Tanabata
The Japanese Star Festival at Hillwood
Tanabata, the Japanese Star Festival, celebrates the legend of Orihime, the weaver princess, and Hikoboshi, the herder. These lovers, separated by the Milky Way, are allowed to meet just once a year on the seventh day of the seventh month.
Enjoy a summer evening relaxing in Hillwood’s spectacular gardens on Thursday, July 9, 2026 from 5:30 to 8:30 pm and take part in festive indoor and outdoor entertainment:
- Listen to delightful music performed by the Washington Toho Koto Society.
- Explore the enchanting Japanese-style garden.
- Bring a blanket or lawn chairs from home and enjoy a picnic on the spacious Lunar Lawn. Sandwiches, drinks, and snacks are available for purchase from Merriweather To Go.
- Create and decorate your own paper lantern to take home.
- Write poems and special wishes on colorful strips of paper, called tanzaku, to hang on bamboo, following the traditional Japanese custom to celebrate Tanabata.
- Try your hand at Japanese calligraphy and origami with our partners at the Japan-America Society of Washington DC.
- Join volunteers from the National Air and Space Museum to explore the constellations associated with the Tanabata legend through solar telescopes and sky maps (weather permitting).
- While here, be sure to explore our newest exhibition, Interwoven: A Tradition of Textiles
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Event Timeline:
5:30 - 8:30 pm | Explore Hillwood
- Enjoy Hillwood’s mansion, gardens, and greenhouse.
- Visit the Interwoven: A Tradition of Textiles exhibition.
- Merriweather To Go and museum shop open.
- Picnic on the Lunar Lawn.
- Decorate paper lanterns, fold origami, practice calligraphy, and make tanzaku (paper wishes).
6:00 pm. | 7:00 pm | 8:00 pm | 20-minute concerts by the Washington Toho Koto Society
Purchase tickets here.