Thumbnail: A delegation from Rikuzentakata, Japan celebrates the unveiling of a mural commemorating its Sister City relationship with Crescent City at the inaugural Kamome Festival in 2023. | Photo by Jessica Cejnar Andrews
Del Norters have less than a month to shore up their finest cardboard boat for a regatta celebrating the 20-foot long fishing vessel that led to a friendship between Crescent City and Rikuzentakata, Japan.
The first-annual Kamome Cardboard Race will be held at the Fred Endert Municipal Pool on April 11, City Manager Eric Wier told the Crescent City Council on Monday. It’s a new component to the third-annual Kamome Festival, which has grown into a week-long shoulder-season — spring or autumn — event that includes involvement from local businesses as well as several different government agencies.
“There are different styles of boats that you can make,” Wier said, queuing up a YouTube clip from the 2021 Henderson State University Cardboard Boat Regatta. “We’re wanting the community to come together. They’re all cardboard and you use duct tape to put it together. This is not the first cardboard boat race ever — they actually have these out there — and they end up being a fairly good competition.”
The City Council on Monday unanimously approved the launching of the Kamome Festival Website, which outlines the cadre of events planned for the week of April 7-12. Councilors also approved waiving Cultural Center rental fees for the Kamome Foundation, which is hosting Taste of Japan — a sampling of small Japanese-inspired dishes with locally-sourced ingredients — and a Humboldt Taiko performance on April 12.
Councilors also agreed to transfer $4,500 from the city’s Sister City budget to cover the city’s expenses during the festival.
Wier said the festival is not only good for the community, but good for the local economy.
“Visit California is also looking at us,” he said, referring to the nonprofit organization that markets the Golden State as a “premier tourist destination.” “This could be a huge win for a shoulder season event that’s not dependent on great weather.”
The first Kamome Festival, held in 2023, commemorated the 10th anniversary of the boat’s arrival in Crescent City as well as the fifth anniversary of the Sister City pact with Rikuzentakata. It included tsunami and disaster preparedness education for Del Norte County Unified School District students — a festival staple that will be repeated this year — the unveiling of Harley Munger’s mural that’s part of a Kamome monument at Beachfront Park and speeches by delegates from both sides of the Pacific.
This year, local businesses will get in on the action starting with Rumiano Cheese Co. holding a cheese tasting event featuring its Sister City-inspired creation Kamome Dry Jack. People can view an ikebana floral display at Enchanted Florist, participate in Gojira-themed tabletop gaming at Kobold’s Lair and participate in karaoke at Port O’ Pints North.
On Friday, in addition to introducing youngsters to first responders and teaching them about disaster preparedness, the Kamome Festival will also feature former mayor Blake Inscore telling the story of the relationship with Rikuzentakata. This will be an event for third- and fifth-graders, Wier said, and will be closed to the public.
The city manager and the former mayor will also lead Tsunami Walking tours on Saturday. Inside the Cultural Center, Del Norte High School Japan Club will host Japanese activities including calligraphy, origami, a tea ceremony and taiko drum workshop.
There will also be a free screening of Studio Ghibli anime film Ponyo at Crescent City Cinemas for up to 159 people from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. April 12. According to Wier, SeaQuake Brewing, SeaFront Baking Co. and Jacobs Engineering are paying for the movie tickets.
Other events include Japanese forest bathing, hosted by the Redwood Parks Conservancy, on Saturday and Kamome-themed bowling at Tsunami Lanes.
The third-annual Kamome Festival comes after a delegation of Takata High School students visited Del Norte High in January.
