Foyle Obon Festival 2025

Foyle Obon Festival 2025

  • UNDER 16 WITH PARENT OR LEGAL GUARDIAN

With amazing Taiko performances from special guests Kodo! Plus traditional dance, arts and crafts, food and more! Tix £10 (under 3 free)

By Foyle Obon

Date and time

Saturday, May 24 · 2 - 6pm GMT+1

Location

The Playtrail

15 Racecourse Road Derry BT48 7RE United Kingdom

Refund Policy

No Refunds

About this event

  • Event lasts 4 hours
  • UNDER 16 WITH PARENT OR LEGAL GUARDIAN
  • Free venue parking

Welcome to Foyle Obon Festival 2025! We’re so excited to celebrate Japanese culture, taiko drumming, and everything that makes this event so special. This year, we are especially thrilled to welcome the amazing Kodo members from Japan. Their skill, energy, and heart will bring something truly unique to our festival, and we are incredibly grateful they’ve made the journey to be with us.

We will transform the Playtrail into a 'Little Tokyo'. There will be community taiko performances, storytelling, traditional Japanese dancing (join in!), arts and crafts, sushi demos, quiz trails, face painting plus food and drink on site.

All tickets are £10, under 3s go free.


Information:

Workshops and activities from 2pm to 3.30pm/4pm

Ecolodoge - arts and crafts (origami, calligraphy and fan making)

Ecolodge - sushi making demo with Waka!

Fairy Fort - Traditional Japanese Storytelling with Masako Carey

Amphitheatre - Taiko tryouts

Picnic area - Japanese games and facepainting

Forest trail - Quiz trail


Performances in the amphitheatre from 3.30pm

Traditional Japanese dance with Hannari

Bon Odori join in community dances!

Community Taiko performances

Ibuki Taiko

Kodo!!!!


Food:

Coffee van at entrance

Kakigori/Northern Soeul and Traceys Chips in the picnic area


Shop

Piricaink!

Tickets

Frequently asked questions

Is there parking?

Yes, there is parking available in the Playtrail grounds and at Ardnashee school. Stewards will be on hand to help direct traffic.

Is the venue wheelchair accessible?

The entire Playtrail area is wheelchair accessible. There will be accessible toilets available which will be signposted. There will be ushers on hand to assist if and when required.

What is your refund policy?

We do not offer refunds for ticket sales.

Is smoking or vaping allowed?

Smoking and vaping is not allowed in the entire Playtrail site.

Can I bring my dog?

Dogs are not allowed in the Playtrail site. This is Playtrail policy. Also, taiko is loud and might annoy them!

Are there toilets nearby?

There are two accessible toilets in the Ecobase building near the entrance which will be available. We will also provide three more toilets next to the Ecobase. Toilets will be signposted.

Can I bring my own refreshments?

Yes you can. However we will have a local coffee vendor near the entrance selling coffee, tea and cakes. There will be a hot food van at the picnic area. There will be traditional Japanese shaved ice and Korean style sushi.

Tags

Organized by

Foyle Obon