File photo of the Winter Light Festival at Nikka Yuko Japanese Garden in Lethbridge, January 2020. (Photo: J.Goulet-LNN)

By Justin Goulet

Nikka Yuko and Lethbridge College to launch new video experience this winter

Nov 10, 2022 | 12:37 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – Visitors to Nikka Yuko Japanese Garden in Lethbridge will have a new exhibit to check out this winter season.

The Kamakuara (Igloo) domed experience uses 360-degree video to immerse guests in visual displays of traditional Japanese and Canadian culture and environments.

The exhibit will be able to host 12 to 20 people at a time. Nikka Yuko noted that the Kamakuara is a 16-foot diameter dome that uses six lasers to project images onto the surrounding walls.

Executive Director at Nikka Yuka, Michelle Day, said, “This is an exciting development that will help bring visitors to Nikka Yuko Japanese Garden through more of the year.”

Visitors will be able to check out Kamakuara when the garden opens for the sixth annual Winter Light Festival on November 30, 2022.

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From its opening in 1967 until 2016, Nikka Yuko was only open from May to October. However, since the launch of the Winter Light Festival in 2016, the site’s schedule has expanded to include activities during the colder months of the year.

Day noted, “This new experience provides our organization a canvas to create more content to showcase in the pre-spring and fall months.”

She said, “Our garden pavilion from Kyoto, Japan, is closed to the public during the off-season, so this will give us a place where the public can still partake in art displays and presentations in the garden.”

PARTNERSHIP WITH LETHBRIDGE COLLEGE

The creation of the Kamakuara experience was a collaboration between Nikka Yuko and Lethbridge College (LC). The post-secondary institution oversaw the technical development of the dome, ordered and implemented the equipment, and created the video content that is a part of the experience.

Nikka Yuko oversaw and supported the content development, working with college representatives to ensure the authenticity of the Kamakuara experiences.

Two different 15-minute presentations, developed by the college, will debut during the Winter Light Festival. The presentations include a northern lights experience, and a traditional calligraphy experience with bright cherry blossoms.

Jason Donkersgoed, director of LC Extension said, “This is a great example of collaboration, bringing together Lethbridge College’s technological expertise and Nikka Yuko Japanese Garden’s vision for creating a memorable visitor experience.”

He continued, “Credit goes to our team in the Centre for Teaching, Learning and Innovation, which has used emerging technologies to bring this vision to life. This project supports economic revitalization and we look forward to continued partnership opportunities with Nikka Yuko and other community groups.”

The new exhibit is the second collaboration between Lethbridge College and Nikka Yuko. The two organizations worked together on an interactive koi pond in the garden’s Bunka Centre, which opened in 2021.

Funding for this project was supported by Travel Alberta’s Tourism Investment Program. Construction on the dome was led by Wesbridge Construction.

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