The cultural festival event TAMATAMA FESTIVAL 2023, celebrating pop culture, occurred on October 21 (Saturday) and 22 (Sunday), 2023. The venue included the former Nishi-Ochiai Junior High School and the Tama Center Station area in Tama City, Tokyo.
Across two days, about 40,000 individuals congregated at TAMATAMA FESTIVAL 2023. The event, orchestrated and overseen by WACK—renowned for fostering artists such as BiSH, currently overseeing seven groups—and NiEW, dedicated to supporting alternative culture, was intricately planned through collaboration with the sponsorship of Tama City, local residents, and businesses. Leveraging the entire cityscape, encompassing the main thoroughfare in front of the station and an abandoned school building, professionals and citizens from the Tama New Town vicinity worked together to craft a distinctive and expansive event.
Reporting on the inaugural TAMATAMA FESTIVAL 2023, highlighting the event through a collection of photographs.
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The Overall Atmosphere of TAMATAMA FESTIVAL 2023
The venue was divided into two areas. In the former Nishi-Ochiai Junior High School, “WACK’s own cultural festival” was held with the participation of all WACK groups (ExWHYZ, GANG PARADE, ASP, BiS, Tameshiba no Oogun, Somewhere in Tokyo, KiSS KiSS, BiTE A SHOCK) and Richi. WACK members worked hard to create a festival that included live performances, art exhibitions, photo exhibitions, costume exhibitions, film screenings, theatrical performances, classes, live broadcasts, and even decorations inside the school.
In addition to markets and exhibits by local creators, a choral festival with the Higashi Ochiai Elementary School Chorus Group and a kids’ dance program were also held at the same venue. While local events have been downsized due to the Corona disaster, this collaboration was the result of the hometown aspirations of the two organizers, Junnosuke Watanabe (WACK) and Mansaku Kashiwai (NiEW), who were born and raised in the Tama Center Station area.
The other venue, the area in front of Tama Center Station, was named “NiEW TOWN PARTY” and featured a special edition of “exPoP!!!!!”, a free admission music event organized by NiEW. Autumn”, a corporate exhibition event introducing new technologies, and “TAMA CURRY CAMP”, a curry festival.
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”WACK-style Cultural Festival” – Gymnasium Area
WACK-style Cultural Festival” was held at the former Nishi-Ochiai Junior High School, with programs running simultaneously in four areas: the gymnasium, schoolyard, school building, and YouTube.
The gymnasium was the main venue for paid performances, with live programs by all WACK groups (ExWHYZ, GANG PARADE, ASP, BiS, Tameshiba no Oogun, Somewhere in Tokyo, KiSS KiSS, BiTE A SHOCK) held on both days, “WACK EXHiBiTiON in TAMATAMA FESTIVAL 2023”, and on the second day, the aforementioned “WACK’s own chorus festival” and “WACK’s own cultural festival performance” (live performance by the light music club in a mixed group, dance performance by the dance club, and theater performance by the drama club) were held.
