The Knox Asian Festival has been recognized with the prestigious Iris Award in the “Stars of Industry” category by the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development (TN.gov). This award honors our festival’s contributions to promoting cultural diversity and community engagement through tourism.

We had the privilege of attending the annual Tennessee Hospitality and Tourism Association’s Purple Iris Awards, which celebrate excellence and innovation in the hospitality and tourism industry. The awards recognize individuals, organizations, and establishments that have made significant contributions to the growth and development of the sector.

The ceremony took place on Thursday, September 26th, at the Chattanooga Convention Center during the Governor’s Conference on Hospitality & Tourism. It was a wonderful evening, featuring a cocktail reception, dinner, and a celebratory after-party

Thank you so much for welcoming us. We toured the Hiroshima Peace memorial museum with the Executive Director. We learned about each item’s history. Mayor Kincannon gave a flower wreath to show respect at the peace park. We learned that the Hiroshima Mayor serves as the President of Mayors for Peace, an international non-partisan, non-governmental organization. More than 8,000 member cities in 163 countries and regions –including 213 U.S. cities, are working together to achieve two key objectives: “Realization of a world without nuclear weapons”; and “Realization of safe andresilient cities”, which, we believe, will lead us to our ultimate goal, lasting world peace.

We visited Iwakuni Mayor Fukuda. Iwakuni city became a very important city between the USA and  Japan Relationship. Also Kintai Bridge serves as a symbol of Iwakuni and is one of the three most beautiful structures of its kind in all of Japan.

Thank you so much for the educational Guide through the Dassai Sake factory. President Sakurai welcomed Mayor Kincannon and her family. We were so impressed by their process of making sake which is very number oriented. Dassai Blue opened Factory in NY in 2023. We can buy Dassai Sake online in USA. https://www.tippsysake.com

Our Cedar Bluff middle school delegation team had 19 people this year. Total 25 delegation teammates went to Muroran city. I met several people who visited Knoxville again. We had a wonderful dinner together. I also visited the room where Prof.Paul Watkins pottery was displayed. Thank you so much for your Love for sister City. We also visited a temple where they put the beautiful kimono on us and Tea Ceremony at Otani High School.

Jack (Teacher) brought 4 students to Knoxville first time in April 2024 for ESL and USA expereince. They studied Engish at UTK and did Homestay program at the Crayton Bradley Academy. They showed the impact report for thier studetns and each studnets made the speech what they learned in English. It was very impresseive impact on thiere students. One of the students told us that she would choose the college to learn the internatinal relationship and will try to get the job to connect Japan to the world inthe future.

Muroran Chamber of commerce and industry’s President Mr.Yoshiyuki Nakata and his wife Kumiko invited us to their office.  100 years anniversary for Muroran Chamber. 

I visited Muroran City (Sister City of Knoxville ) as a part of a delegation from Knoxville City. It was very nice meeting City Mayor Aoyama again. We appreciate their welcoming events which all the city workers were waiting for us to greet. Thank you so much for your friendship. 

Students from Kaisei Gakuin, our sister city in Muroran, Japan, recently came to the United States to study English and experience American culture. We extend our gratitude to Clayton Bradley Academy for hosting the exchange program. The students had the opportunity to participate in the International Festival and experience a week of high school life in the USA. Host families arranged a Holi festival and took them to Dollywood, an amusement park, creating unforgettable memories. Thank you for your generous hospitality and support.

The Japanese tea ceremony typically takes place in a tearoom with tatami floor. Professor David Matthews’ interior architecture studio offered a portable space for the Knox Asian Festival to share this tradition with a larger audience. Students in Matthews’ Japanese Aesthetics and Tennessee Craft explored tearooms across the region in order to create their final project.

Yesterday, we celebrated the dedication of this space with a ribbon cutting and traditional Japanese tea ceremony with our university community and representatives from the Japan-America Society of Tennessee, Inc. You can see the students’ work this September at the 11th annual Knoxville Asian Festival.

The studio received funding through the Angelo Donghai Foundation, who have supported students’ learning experiences in interior architecture for more than 20 years.

Knox News 
https://www.wbir.com/video/news/local/51-f1e38cea-8486-4a8f-8848-36bb1d3ac8dc