issue 02 // volume 41 Burnaby’s Nikkei Matsuri festival » A Japanese summer tradition Jerrison Oracion Senior Columnist f you watched last Saturday’s episode of Nikkei TV on Omni, you might have seen me doing a traditional Japanese dance at a Japanese cultural festival. The second annual Nikkei Matsuri took place on August 30 and 31 in the Nikkei National Museum and Cultural Centre in Burnaby. The Nikkei Matsuri is a Japanese cultural festival that celebrates Japanese culture, and it teaches people about Japanese traditions and values. It involves a Matsuri, which is a festival that happens in Japan every summer. It has a variety of performances, traditional Japanese games, vendor booths, workshops, and a good selection of Japanese food. Most of the performances in the festival happened in the special events hall of the cultural centre, which contained various things that you could see in a theatre : or a school gym in Japan. : Performances included this : year’s headlining act, Hiroshi : Yamaguchi, doing a Shamisen : concert with special guests. : There was also a group called : the Nariya Koto Ensemble : who played Japanese stringed : instruments, and a group called : Wailele Waiwai doing various hula dance; traditional Japanese : dances also took place in the : garden in front of the cultural centre. Everyone took part in : this outdoor dance, called Bon : Odori, which is a dance that : welcomes the spirits of the dead to the festival. There was also a talent show : aspect of the festival, called : “Nikkei’s Got Talent.” Some of : the acts that performed in the : talent show this year included a : jumprope group called Double : Ropes Caravan. There was also Da belly dancer, a magician, and : various dancers and singers. : The act that won the grand : prize of $500 was a dancer : named Ac Bonifacio; she put in : a lot of practice time to perfect her fast and skillful moves, : which was time well-spent. The Nikkei Matsuri festival also had a games area featuring : various traditional Japanese : games, including a game called : Yo-yo Tsuri, where you try to : remove a balloon froma pool : without breaking the string : that is attached to the balloon. : One of the most popular parts of the festival was the Japanese : food, including a tonkatsu : sandwich and chicken karaage : in the Mogu booth, gyoza and a : type of Japanese pancake called : dorayaki at the Gyoza King : booth, Japanese-style crepes in : the Crepes Sasuke booth, and of : course Japanese-style hot dogs from Japadog. The Nikkei Matsuri was : a great event; I got to learna : lot about a summer festival : that happens in Japan every : year, I saw some amazing : performances, I tried Japanese : games, and I sampled some : delicious Japanese food like : Japan’s version of a Sno-Cone, : shaved ice. It was a fantastic, : culturally informative time, with plenty to do, see, and eat! life & style // 11 Beauty 1101: the skinny on dry shampoo » Everything you need to know about getting great hair without a wash Sophie Isbister Life & Style Editor M lifeandstyle @theotherpress.ca hen it comes to dry shampoo, I’ve tried a few—a few dozen, that is. When this miraculous, on the hair-care market a few years ago, there wasn’t much available by way of selection, and it was mostly confined to premium stores like Sephora. Now that the trend has caught on there’s almost too much choice at your local Shoppers Drug Mart. Which is why, for the first instalment of the Other formed pretty well: I wish it had : given me some more volume, . : as my hair tends to get flat from different ee f ary shampoos : lack of washing, but it smelled eee eee RY TANS good and mostly banished oily areas. The one issue I had was 5 . : with its tendency to go on well, have to! I know, it’s a tough life. : y ro BO : but to show a white residue in certain lights later on.” Press’s new beauty column, Beauty 1101, I passed out on our staff. We test-drove these products so you don’t Dry shampoo is a product that typically comes out of an aerosol can; it masks greasy to day-old styles, so you can wet your head less (and avoid the breakage and drying that comes with too-frequent : washing). It also comes in at : several different price points : and from different brands. : The products featured in this article range from $5 to $16, and : are by no means exhaustive. Our editor-in-chief, : Natalie Serafini, tried the Dove Refresh + Care Invigorating time-saving product showed up : Dry Shampoo. She has previous : experience using a non-aerosol, : powder product from Lush. : “I’ve always liked [Lush’s : product] No Drought for the : citrus-y smell and ability to give my flat, day-old hair : some volume,” Natalie told : me, but she adds that Dove’s : product (mostly) holds up: “Dove’s dry shampoo per- At around five-dollars/can, : Natalie says she “wouldn’t go hair and adds scent and volume : out of [her] way to buy this.” Next, our newest staff writer, Brittney MacDonald, : tried Batiste, a product straight : : from the ‘7os—it’s truly the : original dry shampoo. Batiste : costs around $11/can. hair regularly, lam an avid : user of dry shampoo in order : to prolong my hair colour,” Brittney said. “What I found : with Batiste as opposed to my : usual brand is that the scent : was not as overpowering as : a lot of other products, and : the perfume tends to fade : quickly.” She appreciates : this factor because the smell : doesn’t conflict with other scents she might be wearing. Batiste did not leave a visible : residue: “In the past I have had : problems with dry shampoo : lightening my colour because : I dye my hair very dark. I : did not have the same issue : with the Batiste brand—I : will probably buy it again!” : inely hates washing her hair “As someone who dyes their Brittney reports that Our humour editor Sharon “As someone who genu- : more than a couple of times : a week (I know, I’m gross), I’ve tried everything from : translucent face powder to : oil-absorbing creams to dry : shampoo sprays,” Sharon told : me before launching into why her test-run went so well. “This dry shampoo : tackles my main issues : with long-unwashed hair— greasy-looking roots, lack : of body, and lack of a pretty : scent—in an instant. I sprayed : the shampoo [and] within : a few minutes, my hair was noticeably more voluptuous : and looked less greasy.” Sharon : rated Pantene Original Fresh : Dry Shampoo a “would buy,” : adding that she would “pay : comparable to salon brands.” Finally, it was my turn to try a dry shampoo. I picked : Klorane Dry Shampoo with : : Oat Milk, a brand from France. : Miki tried out Pantene Original : : Fresh Dry Shampoo—“witha : fusion of natural tapioca and : Pro-V science,” according to : the bottle. Coming in at the : Same price-point as Dove, the : Pantene product fared a little : better in Sharon’s test-run. The small bottle I chose was : around $16, but I was attracted : to it because the label said it : was not only for fashion-savvy : long-tressed ladies, but for : people who happen to be : bed-ridden. It also specified : to use a “small amount of : product,” which made me : think that even at a higher : price tag it might have better : mileage than a cheaper brand. I was thoroughly impressed with Klorane’s dry shampoo: : after applying it to my sec- : ond-day hair (which is medium length and very prone to greasi- : ness), I was able to go out with : my hair down. Almost unheard : of! Klorane has a non-obtrusive : smell and provides volume as : well asa silky feel that I haven’t : felt from other dry shampoos : before. I most definitely will : buy it again, which is more than : [can say for the $25-bottle that : | got froma salon (it worked so poorly that I used the whole : thing up in about 10 uses). When it comes to dry shampoos, there are tons of : options out there. Ifyou want : to get super natural about : it, you can even use plain : cornstarch. Hopefully the : information in this article is : enough to get you started; our : test runs have shown that a : higher price tag doesn’t always : equal a better product, and : that smell is important. When : selecting a dry shampoo, spray : it a few times in the store to see : if you like the smell. Good luck!