On the 13th (Sunday), Nakayoshi Library hosted a Christmas art event. It was a huge success! It was the first outdoor event with picture book author Goichi Ikeya. Many visitors and children participated.
Since today is just before Christmas, a big Santa will also be making an appearance. If you look closely at the contents of the picture book... you will see a picture of the cityscape of Kobe and Robot-kun from Nakayoshi Library. Santa prepared it for this day♪
Picture book reading
The event started with a reading of "If There Was Only One Christmas Tree in the World" by Ikeya, who is also a picture book author. The children who had been playing earlier were very interested. Children aged 1 to 6 years old were listening intently.
A music teacher volunteered for the day and played live music alongside the children to accompany the scenes from the picture book.
Let's start drawing a big Christmas tree.
Finally, we start drawing the Christmas tree, which is nearly 3 meters tall. Ikeya's drawing method is hand art, which is done by hand without using any brushes. We draw it to the tune of classical music. First of all, all the children unite!
At first, the children were wondering "What can we make?" and tried to guess what they were making, saying things like "A mountain!" and "Mount Fuji!" as they went along. **Slowly, the shape of the tree started to come into view (^^♪
It's starting to take shape little by little.
Watch the video
The best part of this event is the fun of painting together. Children's hands will be full of paint too!
Once the bells were attached, children started shouting "Christmas tree!" from all over the place. The excitement was building. Finally, all the children joined in and made the pure white snow fall.
The final touches are done with the participation of children
A large picture of a Christmas tree is laid flat on the road and children gather around it. From here, everyone uses silver paint to make pure white snow fall (^^♪
Ikeya-san will be doing the final touches.
A lot of people gathered at Motomachi Shopping Street 5th Street.
Santa Claus appears!!
Once everyone has finished drawing the Christmas tree, Santa Claus will hand out presents to all the children who enthusiastically participated. The contents are... a clip exclusive to the Nakayoshi Library event, [Christmas Tree] (^^♪
Even small children are a little scared of Santa... They approach him cautiously.
Finished!!
The big big Christmas tree is finished! It took only one hour! Ikeya-san and the children worked together to finish it. I hope everyone enjoyed it.
Everyone's Gallery
With events being canceled one after another due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I was thinking of an outdoor event that could be held in a short amount of time and that children could enjoy. When I talked to people I've known for a long time about how I wanted to hold an event that children could enjoy for free during these times, they said, "Okay, let's do it before the end of the year!" and agreed to help me. They're really quick on their feet (*'∀')
But we still don't have enough staff... We can't just rely on our own employees... So we asked our customers to help us out. Many people who sympathized with our "for the children" cause came together, and a total of 11 staff members, including a photographer and volunteers from Mukogawa Women's University, are supporting the project. We're so grateful!
The event was truly wonderful, with everyone involved - from hosts to musicians to photographers - all professionals who are active in their respective fields.
We'd like to thank all the customers who came out, everyone at the Motomachi 5-chome shopping arcade for their cooperation, and the factory staff who prepared the panels and equipment during this extremely busy period.
From the beginning of 2020, many things went wrong with our schedules, and the company was forced to change direction. But as I struggled, the things I did turned out to be positive, and through meeting good people, my work has expanded in many directions.
And now it's December! I'm so happy that we were able to close the year with this wonderful event. Thanks to all the customers, shareholders, employees, and business partners who support Nakayoshi Library on a daily basis, it looks like we'll be able to have a great end to 2020.
See you next year. We hope to bring a special event to the event. We will continue to use our creativity to provide something new and interesting, about trees, and about creating happy spaces for children, so that Nakayoshi Library can contribute to society as much as possible.
Thank you everyone for your continued support! (^^♪
Picture book author Goichi Ikeya x Nakayoshi Library collaboration picture book
If There Was Only One Christmas Tree in the World Kobe version limited to 35 copies will be sold♪→ [Go to product page]
The following is the event announcement:
Christmas tree art by picture book author Goichi Ikeya
Presented by Nakayoshi Library
Presented by Nakayoshi Library
●We are now fully booked and reservations are now closed.
December 13th (Sun) 13:00
Location: Motomachi Shopping Street 5-chome, 5-7-11 Motomachi-dori, Chuo-ku, Kobe
Time: 13:00-14:30
Time Schedule: 13:00-13:15
Reading of the picture book "If there was only one Christmas tree in the world" by Goichi Ikeya
■13:15-14:00
Performance (A giant Christmas tree is drawn to music.)
■14:00-14:30
For the final touch, all the children in attendance will make it snow white all at once!
Participation is free! Everyone is welcome to join.
Benefit 1
This is Ikeya's book.
Advance sale [If there was only one Christmas tree in the world ~ Kobe original version] First come, first served. Numbers are limited, so reservations will be given priority.
Bonus 2
Decorate your Christmas tree with ornaments to make it look cute.
Reservations are now being accepted!
Introducing Koichi Ikeya
Artist and picture book author
Born in Shizuoka Prefecture in 1969. Active in various locations, including live picture book shows and live painting.
Official website: https://www.artistyoshi.com/
Please note: Paint will get on your clothes and hands, so please wear clothes that you don't mind getting dirty. *We will lend you simple raincoats. Please note that we have a limited number of them.
●We are now fully booked and reservations are now closed.
