In brief:

• The Canberra Nara Candle Festival is back this month.
• The festival is on 25 October at the Canberra Nara Peace Park in Lennox Gardens.
• This article lists Canberra Nara Candle Festival highlights.

The Canberra Nara Candle Festival is back this month.

The festival showcases Japanese culture and celebrates Canberra’s sister city relationship with Nara, Japan.

Throughout the afternoon and evening, visitors can experience Japanese culture through food, entertainment and hands-on activities and demonstrations. These accompany the main candle-lighting event at 7pm.

Key details

This family-friendly event is free to enter.

It will be held from 4 pm–9 pm, Saturday 25 October at the Canberra Nara Peace Park in Lennox Gardens.

Here are some event highlights:

See Nara Peace Park glow in candlelight

Don’t miss the beautiful display of 2,000 shimmering candles in the Canberra Nara Peace Park.

• Time: 7 pm (after the official ceremony)
• Location: main stage.

This annual event is inspired by Japan’s much larger candle festival, known as the Nara 'Tokae'.

Tens of thousands of candles are lit each October in Nara's parks and world heritage sites.

The festival name comes from the Japanese word 'to-ka', describing a shape resembling flower petals which sometimes forms around the wick when a candle is lit. This occurrence is believed to represent good fortune.

Ring the Rotary Peace Bell

Canberra Nara Peace Park is home to the Rotary Peace Bell – a symbol of peace and goodwill.

Festival attendees are invited take their turn striking the bell.

The Peace Bell expresses the goodwill between citizens of Canberra, our sister city Nara, and the rest of the world.

Rotary Club volunteers will be available to answer questions about the Canberra-Nara relationship.

Event details:

• Time: 4 pm–9 pm.

Celebrate Japanese pop culture through Cosplay

Cosplay (costume play) is a significant aspect of pop culture in Japan.

Canberrans are invited to enter a Cosplay competition at this year’s festival.

Dress up as a character from your favourite tv show, movie, video game, manga or anime and you could win one of three awards.

Details:

• Registration closes: 4:15 pm, 25 October
• Event starts: 5:15 pm
• Award ceremony: 6 pm–6:15 pm.

Register for the competition on the Events Canberra website.

Indulge in Japanese food and drink

What’s a better way to experience culture than indulging in traditional food?

There will be a variety of delicious Japanese food and drink on offer.

Vendors include:

• Fuji Japanese Bakery
• Taiyaki Cakes and Ninja Sausages
• Doton
• Australia Japan Society ACT – Japanese Food & Drinks.

There will also be other international cuisine on offer. See the full list of food on the festival web page.

Enjoy an exciting cultural performance by Nara students

There will be a range of exciting entertainment on offer at this year’s festival.

One not to miss is the performance by Nara University High School students.

The school has performed at the Canberra Nara Candle Festival annually since 2005.

The students have planned and choreographed this year's performance, inspired by the contrast of ancient Japanese traditions and modern J-pop.

Details:

• Performance time: 4:40 pm–5:00 pm
• Location: main stage.

For more details on these events, or for the full festival program, visit the Events Canberra website.

Getting there

If driving, the nearest public carparks within the National Triangle include:

• Langton Crescent Car Park
• Treasury Car Park
• National Library Car Park
• Questacon Car Park.

A free shuttle bus will run from 3:40 pm–9:30 pm, servicing three stops:

• National Library
• Langton Crescent, Parkes
• Lennox Gardens.

More information on transport and shuttle routes is available on the Events Canberra website.

For public transport details visit the Transport Canberra website.

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