Destination Asia FestivalDestination Asia Festival
Explore the diverse cultures of Asia through a weekend of music, dance, food, and trees.
Content Detail
Bring your family and friends to The Morton Arboretum to explore the rich cultures and diverse traditions of Asia during the annual Destination Asia Festival.
Taste delicious food from local vendors, enjoy live music, and take in traditional dances and performances celebrating the diversity of Asian cultures.
The Destination Asia Festival takes place at The Morton Arboretum on Saturday, August 1, and Sunday, August 2, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
A special Toro Nagashi lantern celebration will take place on the evening of Friday, July 31, on the Arboretum’s Meadow Lake, with an exclusive VIP experience overlooking the celebration from inside the Arboretum’s Ginkgo Restaurant.
Highlights
The Destination Asia Festival is a weekend-long event featuring arts demonstrations, musical and cultural performances, and interactive activities for all ages.
The festival takes place along ADA accessible, paved walking paths of the Visitor Center area, Meadow Lake Trail, and the Conifer Walk.
Food trucks will be on-site selling food and beverages throughout the event.
Tickets
Admission to the Destination Asia Festival is included with Arboretum general admission.
Purchase Arboretum general admission online in advance for Saturday, August 1, or Sunday, August 2. The further in advance you purchase your tickets, the more you save. Buy online to save $2 per ticket and save time in line.
Bonsai Show
The Prairie State Bonsai Society is proud to present an exhibition of bonsai at The Morton Arboretum’s Destination Asia Festival. View a display of mature bonsai trees and trees in training at the Bonsai Show on Saturday, August 1, and Sunday, August 2.
Toro Nagashi Ceremony
On Friday, July 31, attend a breathtaking Japanese lantern ceremony known as Toro Nagashi on Meadow Lake.
Temperate Asia Collection and Global Tree Conservation
The Morton Arboretum maintains and celebrates its strong, enduring ties to Asia through its living tree and plant collections and its global research collaborations. The Arboretum’s Temperate Asia Collection includes many trees and shrubs from temperate Asian countries—including China, Japan, and Korea—which share a climate similar to the Midwest. Arboretum scientists and conservation practitioners work in partnership with experts across Asia to advance tree science, conservation, and forest management in a rapidly changing world. Learn more about this important work by attending a one-hour presentation on Saturday, August 1.
Highlights
The Destination Asia Festival is a weekend-long event featuring arts demonstrations, musical and cultural performances, and interactive activities for all ages.
Performances
The festival program showcases a range of Asian artistic traditions, including sumo wrestling, traditional music and dance, and cultural demonstrations representing East, Southeast, and South Asian cultures.
Activities
Engage with Asian cultural traditions through hands-on experiences and demonstrations that include activities such as yo-yo, archery, and cricket.
Toro Nagashi Ceremony
On Friday, July 31, attend a breathtaking Japanese lantern ceremony known as Toro Nagashi on Meadow Lake.
Bonsai Show
The Prairie State Bonsai Society is proud to present an exhibition of bonsai at The Morton Arboretum’s Destination Asia Festival. View a display of mature bonsai trees and trees in training at the Bonsai Show on Saturday, August 1, and Sunday, August 2.
Sumi-e Brush Painting Workshop
In this Sumi-e workshop on Saturday, August 1, learn to simplify a specimen into a few well-placed strokes with a minimalist approach to Asian ink and brush painting. Advance registration is required.
Saving Asia’s Threatened Trees: Global Partnerships in Action
Learn how The Morton Arboretum’s Global Tree Conservation Program (GTCP) works with collaborators around the globe to save threatened trees in Asia. This one-hour presentation on Saturday, August 1, is free with Arboretum admission.
Festival Schedule and Map
A map and festival schedule will be available closer to the event date.
Bonsai Show and Workshops
The Prairie State Bonsai Society is proud to present an exhibition of bonsai at The Morton Arboretum’s Destination Asia Festival. Bonsai is the Japanese art of growing and developing trees and other woody-stemmed plants in pots. View a display of mature bonsai trees and trees in training at the Bonsai Show on Saturday, August 1, and Sunday, August 2.
Bonsai Workshops
Discover the art of bonsai, develop your styling and wiring skills, or receive advice on your own bonsai tree. Bonsai workshops take place on-site at The Morton Arboretum on Saturday, August 1, and Sunday, August 2.
Food and beverages are available at the Ginkgo Restaurant and the Ginkgo Café, both located in the Visitor Center.
The Ginkgo Restaurant is a sit-down restaurant that offers a full dinner and beverage menu, including freshly made sandwiches, salads, burgers, and assorted alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages. The restaurant is open from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, and from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on weekends.
Freshly made packaged salads and sandwiches, bakery items, espresso beverages, hot tea, and drip coffee are available at the Ginkgo Café, open daily from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 pm.
Accessibility
The Destination Asia Festival takes place along the paved walking paths of the Visitor Center area, Meadow Lake Trail, and the Conifer Walk. These paths are fully accessible for wheelchairs and walkers but do include a few hills. Performance stages will be located on the grassy areas near these walking trails.
Manual wheelchairs are available for loan by visiting the Information Desk inside the Visitor Center, as are other aids for guests with special needs.
Parking
Accessible parking is available in parking lot P-1, which features a permeable concrete paver system that allows rainwater to pass through. These pavers are uneven, but the accessible parking spaces and pathways from parking lot P-1 to the Visitor Center have smooth pavers.
Restrooms
Accessible restrooms are available in the Visitor Center until 6:00 p.m.
Accessible restrooms and a large all-gender restroom with a changing table are available in the West Pavilion of the Visitor Center until sunset. The entrance to the West Pavilion does not have steps and is accessible to wheelchairs and walkers.
Accessible restrooms in the Children’s Garden are open from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m.
