The Japanese Friendship Garden was burdened with a shutdown in spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but by thinking up creative solutions, their team has been able to pull through and keep the garden engaged with the community.
“When coronavirus came into Arizona at the end of February, it was so unknown for us, and I just didn’t know what to expect,” Executive Director Reiko Reavis said.
Reavis said that after hearing of warnings for cultural entities in Phoenix to start closing up, she was worried that the garden would soon have to do the same. Because of the uncertainty of the pandemic and for the safety of staff and guests, the garden was shut down on March 25.
“It wasn’t easy because, at that moment of the shutdown, I knew we didn’t have any income coming into the garden,” she said. “And as an executive director, I have to think about how I can keep our staff on payrolls and how to sustain our business going forward.”
With events and workshops planned for the spring season canceled, a huge source of income for the garden was lost.
Reavis said that a number of cultural arts industries, such as the Arizona Commission on the Arts and Arizona Humanities, provided grants as relief for nonprofit organizations like the garden. Paycheck Protection Program loans also helped to keep the garden’s employees on the payroll.
Another solution to make up for the closure was a daily livestream done through Facebook Live.
“We did the daily livestream of the garden to show a very peaceful image, such as waterfalls and streams and a beautiful landscape of the Japanese garden, because people needed some sort of tranquil image to ease the stress and pain and unknown fear,” Reavis said.
The Japanese Friendship Garden reopened on May 15, applying Center for Disease Control guidelines right away.
Tyler Christensen, owner of ramen restaurant SoSoBa on Roosevelt Row, said that the garden is more like a neighbor than a business partner for the shop.
“Whenever they’re open for season, there’s always some back and forth between people who go to our shop and go to Ro Ho En,” he said. “They’re very beneficial for SoSoBa, and they’re very beneficial as a downtown kind of cultural touchpoint.”
SoSoBa was shut down at around the same time as the garden.
“It’s great to have them back and doing the events, not just because of the fact that we’re getting business out of it, but because it’s such a special place and just a really cool cultural element of downtown,” Christensen said.
The garden’s Otsukimi Moon Viewing Festival, a yearly event that typically occurs in September, was changed to an exhibit in October 2020. In past years, the garden would have food vendors and a stage for musical performances. This year instead had guests moving through the garden’s pathways to view different traditional Japanese arts.
The garden adopted a time slot entry for purchasing tickets for the event. Admission was limited to 50 people per 30-minute increments, and the maximum capacity has been changed to 100 people – 10% of the usual capacity.
Illumination 2020, a newly created event that started Thanksgiving weekend, has the same guidelines, limiting admission to 100 people.
“It’s basically the kind of event where everyone can socially distance,” Shayna Price, the cultural programs and marketing manager said. “We keep people moving along; there’s not a lot of places for lines or stop ups. It’s tailored to be able to work during the pandemic, but still bring in some lost money because of the pandemic.”
Inspired by the light shows done in traditional gardens in Japan, Illumination is a nightly event where the garden’s pruned pines and falls are lit up by an assortment of colored lights.
“People are really enjoying it. We have a nice, steady flow of people,” Price said.
With the addition of a sake bar on the weekends, Price said that she hopes it will draw more crowds, particularly couples and adults.
“There are a lot of light displays for families and kids. It’s fine here, too, but we’re kind of trying to reach a crowd that’s not really the focus of a lot of other light displays downtown, because we are a very tranquil and kind of a more mature taste,” she said.
“Our team really pulled together and stayed together throughout when we first had to close, and then when we had taken so many events and programs off and canceled,” Price said. “And what’s been amazing is seeing people really come back and support the garden.”
Contact the reporter at wwhitloc@asu.edu.
