Satsuki Bazaar

I will admit this review is a little bias. I’ve been going to this church and working this bazaar since I was in the second grade which is a long time. But it’s totally worth the 5 Stars.
Things I know:
–It’s small. We’re a small church but very family oriented church.
— We don’t serve Alcohol. Hey, we’re a small church and those permits are expensive.
Reason why this bazaar is better then others:
–Our food: All of our food is prepared w/​lots of love and personal touch. I have personally squeezed the age for the inari. Meaning we use the real stuff and yes, it’s fresh. None of that canned stuff. We serve loco mocos and portabella mushroom burgers, which I have never seen at any other Bazaar. The Steak Dinners, Chicken Dinners, eggrolls, manju, and baked goods are all very good as well.
–Our Silent Auction: We always get some good donations for the silent auction. This year I got a box for the A’s game’s Japanese Heritage night. We also had a bunch of bonsai trees, beautiful art, and every year one of our chef members donates a sushi dinner for 30 – 40 people. The donations change every year but we always have some pretty good items and I always seem to spend more then I hoped for.
–Our Sunday Entertainment: On Sunday of the Bazaar we close the street down and set up a stage for a number of different performers. This year, Grammy Award nominee Anthony Brown and acclaimed Bay Area writer-​performer Brenda Wong Aoki headlined the entertainment. Also, Kalena Gregory’s Hawaiian dance group, Hui Hula o na Pu’u i ka Noe; the Destiny Arts Center’s youth hip-​hop dance group; and the Dii Lewis Band, featuring Lorin Kagehiro all had some awesome performances.
I go to a number of bazaar’s throughout the year and i must say ours has the most personal touch. Many of the bigger festivals mass mass produce their food and it’s made poorly. I’ve even been to one where they made their veggie sushi w/​celery. GROSS. its supposed to be made w/​a nice blanched string bean. I mean if you don’t want to spend the money on the string bean at least get cucumber, not celery. So, if you’re not doing anything next year during Bay to Breaker time, check it out. I’ll be sure to greet you at the Hamburger booth.

This is an annual fund raising event for the church. A variety of Bay Area artists, including San Francisco Japantown’s renowned singer Collette Ikemi and Asian American artist-​musician Charlie Chin, headlined the entertainment at the Satsuki Arts Festival and Bazaar, which was held on May 19 – 20 in Berkeley.
Ikemi, born and raised in San Francisco’s Japantown, has been singing professionally since the age of 16. Her early singing career included being part of a vocal group singing with the Edwin Hawkins Choir. She also began singing rhythm and blues and jazz and has performed with local R&B band Pulse as well as the noted Asian American jazz fusion band, Hiroshima. She has performed at numerous Japantown community events, including the Nihonmachi Street Fair and the Cherry Blossom Festival. She performed this afternoon with special guests, Mana… what a voice!!!
Chin, who has played in the folk, rock, jazz and Asian American music venues during his professional career, began in 1962 as a guitar and banjo player in New York City’s Greenwich Village. By 1970, he joined musicians Chris Kando Iijima, Joanne Nobuko Miyamoto in what would become a landmark Asian American band, producing the album «A Grain of Sand», Music for the Struggle by Asians in America.
In addition to Ikemi and Chin, other performers included Panic, an English rock band featuring Dii Lewis, this year’s master of ceremonies and a member of the Berkeley Buddhist Temple; the Nisei jazz group Toru Saito Quartet; the Genyukai Okinawan dance troupe; and the White Magnolia tai chi group.
The event also featured various Japanese foods, clothing and arts and crafts, American fare, games for children, and a silent auction.