The night before Obon, many food related chores have to be taken care of, such as marinating the chicken as Danny Iwama, Richard Kagawa, Tor Ormseth and Joanie Martinez are doing
Mary Hatakeyama does the unenviable chore of chopping onions!
Meanwhile, in the kitchen, howakai members (Japanese-speaking members) prepare the somen
In the gym, Hisako Koga's marvelous Dharma School Display was ready for the crowd
On the day of Obon, the BBQ crew starts early, watching carefully over the teriyaki chicken, a West Covina Buddhist Temple specialty
Obon Chairman Dick Koga demonstrates his wok technique
Meanwhile, out on the parking lot, various game booths were ready for action, such as Dharma School Superintendent Diane Hata and her crew of the Leong, Iwama and Kikunaga families
Here, WCBT's Junior YBA members Kendra Kagawa, Kyle Kagawa, Allison Haraguchi, Kevin Hata and Amy Sakaue staff the soda booth
The Obon is also a time of reestablishing ties, as Joanie Martinez (L) does with her niece, Heather Kitada
On left is former Dharma School Superintendent Rene Kuwahara who posed with former students Dean and Kevin Hata