Burlington Taiko

Celebrate the New Year and the opening of the Open Air Gallery: Ski & Snowshoe Trail with a fireside concert with Burlington Taiko! The Café will be open from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM for warm drinks and delicious culinary creations to enjoy fireside. 

Since 1987, Burlington Taiko has been mesmerizing audiences with the powerful, spellbinding and propulsive sounds of the Taiko and have been honored both nationally and internationally. 

Taiko—Japanese for “big drum”- is a relatively modern revival of ancient Japanese drumming traditions. The drums originally developed in India, where they were used in religious ceremony to represent the voice of the Buddha. Moving across China and Korea with the spread of Buddhism, taiko arrived in Japan around 500 AD. Taiko quickly became part of Japanese culture; spiritual healers played taiko to dispel evil spirits and drive insects from the rice fields; Samurai employed taiko to instill fear in the enemy and courage in themselves; villagers used taiko to in their prayers for rain and in thanksgiving for a bountiful harvest. Over time, many areas developed unique choreography and rhythms celebrating festivals or recreations of historic events.

In modern times, taiko has emerged as a performing art. Groups such as Osuwa Daiko led by Grandmaster Daihachi Oguchi and Sukeroku Taiko of Tokyo pioneered the way in the 70’s and 80’s collecting local festival rhythms and transforming them into stage performance pieces.

Join Burlington Taiko for an outdoor workshop to get your heart beating on January 16th!

We advise wearing appropriate winter clothing as this is an outdoor event.