Thursday, May 19, 2022 marks the summer season opening for Nikka Yuko Japanese Garden in Lethbridge. (Lethbridge News Now)

By Justin Goulet

Nikka Yuko Japanese Garden opens for summer season

May 19, 2022 | 8:48 AM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – Nikka Yuko Japanese Garden is opening its gates to Lethbridge residents and guests for the summer season.

Thursday, May 19, 2022 marks the facility’s official opening day, with this season being the first to feature the fully opened new Bunka Centre. The summer season is on until October 9, 2022.

The popular site will be open weekly from Thursdays to Mondays with a different themed cultural program. The garden will be open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursdays, Sundays and Mondays, and from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

A grand opening for the new Bunka Centre is scheduled for July 14, 2022. (Lethbridge News Now)

Opening weekend at Nikka Yuko will feature a variety of events, like Minyo dancing, a type of Japanese folk dance, taiko drumming with the site’s new drumming team, storytelling, tea ceremony presentations, and anime showings. Guests can also join yoga and meditation classes throughout the summer season.

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WINTER LIGHT FESTIVAL

The Winter Light Festival this past holiday season proved quite popular for Nikka Yuko. The 2021-2022 festival saw a total of 23,216 guests, which is an 18.5 per cent increase from the previous season.

The entire 2021 season at Nikka Yuko saw a total of 43,808 guests, which was a 30 per cent increase from the previous year.

Michelle Day, Executive Director for Nikka Yuko said, “like many businesses we saw a drop in our attendance in 2020, but we are encouraged to see our attendance levels rising above our expectations as people begin to travel once again.”

Day added that, “more than 50 per cent of our guests are visiting us from Calgary and out of town, which creates a positive impact to our community as these visitors eat, sleep, and shop in Lethbridge while they’re here.”

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Over the past few years, Nikka Yuko Japanese Garden has received significant recognition. The site was featured in a CBC documentary, ‘Borrowed From Nature’, was named one of the Top 10 North American Gardens Worth Travelling For in 2019, and has been selected as a finalist for the 2022 Alberta Business Awards of Distinction.

READ MORE: CBC documentary to showcase Lethbridge’s Japanese gardens

READ MORE: Nikka Yuko Japanese Garden earns tourism award, announce annual Winter Light Festival

Meanwhile, the new Bunka Centre at Nikka Yuko will have its official grand opening event on July 14, which will coincide with the garden’s 55^th anniversary.

READ MORE: Nikka Yuko’s Bunka Centre to open its doors next month

More information is available at the Nikka Yuko Japanese Garden website.