Kendoka know why Kendo's so great. The majority of the general public have never even heard of Kendo. This is the year of the 14th World Kendo Championships and it's an ideal opportunity to increase the public's awareness of Kendo and its benefits as well as raise money for TEAM CANADA!
Plan & Promote an Event!
What you'll require:
- Enthusiasm
- An Event
- Some Promotion
We can help!
Event Ideas
Perhaps you're already doing something that can be promoted to the public during National Kendo Month.
For example, the McGill Kendo Club is having their 15th Anniversary Taikai on June 21. They don't need to hold a separate event - they just need to promote what they're already doing.
The Hayakawa Kendo Club in Welland, Ontario is participating in the Rose Festival Parade on June 21 and will be doing demonstrations during the Rose Festival weekend.
If your dojo doesn't have a tournament or some community event they are participating in, it's easy to create your own! Here are some suggestions:
- Participate in The Thousand Cut Challenge
- Hold an open house celebrating your dojo's anniversary year.
- Organize a special seminar and invite the public.
- Have a picnic for your dojo in a local park and have an outdoor practice.
- Partner with a local food bank and do a food drive and demonstration at your dojo.
Put a spin on any of these ideas or get creative and come up with something that suits your dojo!
Promote Your Event
There are lots of ways to promote your event within your community.
- Contact local media about your event. Most communities have free local newspapers that are looking for local news stories. Call a reporter and pitch your event. We will help you craft a press release if you give us the details. Contact us for assistance.
- Ask the owners of Asian food stores and/or Japanese restaurants to put up flyers about your event. Put the word out at your town's Japanese Cultural Centre or to the local cultural group (if there is one).
- If you're holding an open house or other organized event, ask your MP, MPP and local political leaders to make an appearance there. Where there are politicians, there are often reporters. DEFINITELY ask the V.I.P. guest to dress up in gi & hakama - put bogu on them if you can - it makes for a great photo opportunity and is very likely to get put into the local newspaper.
- Use Facebook to promote your event - create a Facebook group for your dojo (if you haven't done so already) and ask all the members of your dojo who have a Facebook profile to let their friends, family and co-workers know about the event. It is easy to contact hundreds of people in this manner (depending on the size of your dojo).
Need some other ideas? Let us know what you have in mind and contact us if you want some other tips on getting the word out about your event.