Tanabata: Celebrate the Japanese Star Festival at Kew Gardens

Standard Kew admission fee (£1 discount when booking online)

No booking required – just turn up on the day!

Tanabata is the Japanese festival that celebrates the coming together of two stars, Orihime and Hikoboshi, who can only meet once a year, on the 7th day of the 7th month. This year, join us at Kew Gardens to enjoy workshops, activities and performances marking this ancient summer celebration.

Try your hand at Japanese calligraphy and origami, then follow the Tanabata Treasure Trail to create tanzaku and decorations to be hung in the bamboo grove, learn about the Tanabata story through performances by Haruka Kuroda of A Thousand Cranes Children’s Theatre Company, and tour Kew’s famous bamboo collection with experts Ray Townsend and Maria Vorntsova.

Don’t miss out on taking part in the Tanabata story!

In Japan, Tanabata celebrates the romantic story of the weaver star Orihime and the cowherd star Hikoboshi, who are separated by the Milky Way and are only allowed to meet on this one day each year. People celebrate by making paper origami decorations and writing their wishes on strips of coloured paper called tanzaku, which they hang with other paper ornaments on bamboo in the hope that their wishes will come true.