OGDEN -- Community members swarmed the Ogden Buddhist Church on Saturday to celebrate the Obon Festival, known for its spirited dancing and drumming.
The festival highlighted an ancient tradition that brings together Buddhist families to honor their ancestors.
"The Obon is a time to remember the past members and how their lives have influenced our own," said Annette Koga, minister's assistant.
The annual celebration serves as a fundraiser for the church and its congregation of about 100 families. Obon festivities typically draw more than 1,000 people and can bring in as much as $6,000, Koga said.
Olin Fredrickson said he attended the event because he respects Buddhist philosophies, even though he is not a member of the church.
"We're all in this world together," he said. "We're all brothers and sisters."
Others who attended included Gayla and LeRoy Barker.
The husband and wife came all the way from Arizona, and said they had family members from Hawaii, California, Arizona and Texas attending the festival as well.
Scott Koga, Annette Koga's son, grew up Buddhist, but these days he doesn't always make it to church as often as he'd like. So, he sees it as a privilege to participate in the festival as a traditional Japanese Taiko drummer.
"There's not a whole lot in my life that brings me back to my roots besides this," he said.
At about 7:30 p.m., the young man got his chance to honor his heritage. With the sun setting but still producing a beastly heat, the Taiko drummers took to the church grounds and pounded out a song about war. Several women on folding chairs enjoyed the performance while frantically fanning themselves.
Gayla Barker's brother, Scott Hall of Morgan, has built about six of the drums the group uses, each drum requiring about 100 hours of work. Hall said the stretchers used to stretch the drum's skins also are made by hand.
Taiko drumming carries deep religious significance, according to the Obon Festival program. The drum represents the world of Buddha, or the world of enlightenment. The drummer represents the world of illusion. And the drumsticks represent Buddha's teachings, which provide an essential link between the two worlds.
Ogden's Taiko group has become well known with performances throughout Utah and neighboring states.
Saturday's drumming was followed by dancing.
Festival food included somen, a cold noodle and seaweed dish, and manju, a pastry with a tasty little surprise inside.
The church also used the festival as an opportunity to promote the Topaz Museum project.
A group is trying to raise money to build a museum in Delta to preserve the World War II-era history of the Japanese internment camp in Utah called Topaz.
Ogden Buddhists gathered for an Obon service Sunday morning.
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