Fantastic Okinawa

Thanksgiving Day

By Bill Charles

Santa Claus arrives to townthis weekend, and hisdebut is just the tip of theentertainment options at

the Okinawa City International

Carnival.The Okinawa City

International Festival takes placeSaturday and Sunday in areasaround Gate 2 Street, Koza MusicTown and Chuo Park Avenue.Admission is free. The new Santa

Claus Carnival will fuel kids’excitement, and is a part of thefestival, which gets under way atnoon both days, running until 9p.m.

The International Great Tug-of-War, a carnival parade and The

Samba Queen Contest are highpoints for Saturday. Although therope is a bit smaller atInternational Carnival tug-of-war,the fun is at least as big as inNaha’s event. It’s a scaled downrope pull from the one that has

put Naha City in the GuinnessBook of World Records, butOkinawa City locals say theirs at6 p.m. Saturday is just as muchfun, drawing more than 2,200 par-ticipants. The rope is roughly 80

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The Detroit Lions have less to worryabout this Thanksgiving Day thanol’ tom turkey does. The traditionof granting a presidential pardon to

the turkey sent to the White House contin-ued this week, but the winless Lions aren’tso worried about their fate this holiday asthey face the 5-5 Buffalo Bills on theNational Football League gridiron. Detroitknows Buffalo will be fired up, but figuretheir 7-4 record should take precedence. Ofcourse, due to the time zones, thatThanksgiving Day football comes toOkinawa in the wee hours of Friday, thetraining holiday here.

The second Friday morning NFLaction pits the Dallas Cowboys and their 8-3 record against the opposite 3-8 recordNew York Giants. Sports aficionados will

have to turn to basketball to get their ‘fix’on turkey day on AFN.

Apart from giving thanks for bountifulblessings over the year, Thanksgiving is aday for eating. The Seamen’s Club Nahais one of many base restaurants touting aThanksgiving Feast on Thanksgiving Day.It runs 11 a.m. ~ 9 p.m., and features thetraditional turkey with all the trimmings,ham with the fixin’s, salads, soup andsweet cornbread, not to mention an arrayof desserts. The all-you-can-eat buffet is$20.95 for adults and $11.95 for kids 5-12.Children four and under eat free.Reservations are recommended, particular-ly for larger groups, by calling (098) 857-1753 or DSN 648-7493.

This year marked the 67th anniversaryof the National Thanksgiving Turkey pres-

entation. Although live Thanksgivingturkeys have been presented intermittentlyto presidents since the Lincoln administra-tion, the current ceremony dates to 1947,when the first National ThanksgivingTurkey was presented to President HarryTruman. Presidents traditionally have

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Jolly ‘ol St. Nick to visit International Carnival

Turkey trumps football this Thanksgiving Day

Thanksgiving would be nothing withoutturkey and all the traditional trappings.

Okinawa City International Carnival tug-of-war rope may be smaller than Naha's but participants enthusiasm more than makes up the difference.

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CarnivalContinued from page 1

meters long and weighs 10 tons.Pre-tug of war performances willinclude music and karate demon-strations. The tug of war is opento all spectators, although youngchildren should be kept clear ofthe rope.

The first day of theInternational Carnival also fea-tures an international parade withparticipants from various coun-tries, including the United Statesand Philippines, presenting theircultures through performances.

It’s also the time when SantaClaus, accredited by Greenland’s“International Association ofAuthorized Santa Clauses”, willcome and warm up the carnival-goers. Before the event, visitorscan sign up to be a participant inthe parades. There will also becontests for the best costume, andorganizers say it doesn’t have tobe a Christmas costume. Peopletaking part in the parade onSaturday are encouraged to dressup.

Sunday, motorcycle ridersfrom all over the island willassemble on Gate 2 Street, whichwill be closed to traffic and

packed with some 200 bikes forthe occasion. The Gate 2 Festival,with the rumbling—and some-what loud—accent of more than200 Harley Davidson motorcycleson the street, runs concurrentlythis weekend. The motorcycleparade takes place Sunday at 2p.m., blending the cultures ofOkinawa, the United States andbikers of other nations.

A rock concert and danceperformance are also on theSunday program. Another fasci-nating draw is the Pro Wrestlingexhibition. There will be plenty offood vendors and souvenir standsavailable to spectators, each offer-

ing a specialty unique toOkinawa, America or anothercountry. Games and activities forchildren will be plentiful as well.

Organizers emphasize thatstreets and roadways will be sub-ject to traffic restrictions duringthe weekend event. They alsoencourage people to park a dis-tance away, because parking inthe immediate Chuo Park andGate 2 Street areas is very limit-ed. All of Gate 2 Street, which isHighway 20, will be closed 10a.m. ~ 9 p.m. both days. Saturdayone lane on Route 330 closed 2p.m. ~ 4 p.m., as well as part ofCulture Center Street will beclosed 1:30 p.m. ~ 3:30 p.m. Allof Park Avenue / B.C. Street willbe closed on Sunday afternoon 2~ 2:30 p.m.

More than 200 Harley Davidson motorcycles take over the street in Sunday parade.

In the evening the street changes to live music venue.

Everyone is invited to pull theirweight in the tug-of-war takingplace at 6 p.m. on Saturday.