I remember my preschool teacher chuckling as I made my first gyotaku print, carefully salving tempera paint around the fish’s eyeball. “But if I paint over it, how will it see when we set it free?” Turned out, the fish was dead. Which meant I didn’t have to be careful at all and could, in fact, poke its eyeball—which I did (of course). No Maui keiki should be without their own gyotaku-making memory, and they’ll soon have their chance at Saturday’s 11th annual Maui Matsuri, the Valley Isle’s premier Japanese cultural festival (May 14, 2-9pm). The event boasts everything from obon dancing to taiko drumming to samurai sword fighting to a tea ceremony demonstration to a natto eating contest (i.e. a fermented soybean dish—full of probiotics—that might smell like Hell on Earth, but tastes good if you know what’s good for you) and much more. And if your kid has a fish eye for hands-on activities, the Kodomo Corner offers other craft projects like kokeshi bookmarks, kendama toys and Kikaida masks. Ooh, ooh! Speaking of Kikaida—the O.G. tokusatsu TV series, popular since the early ’70s—the superhero himself will be making action-packed appearances at 3:30 and 5:30pm. [Free admission; University of Hawaii Maui College, 310 W. Kaahumanu Ave., Kahului; 283-9999;mauimatsuri.com]
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