Alishan Event Space

2003
Oct 15th Fall Organic Market Day
Fresh organic vegetables, homemade breads, crafts, massage, workshops on soap making and yoga. Tengu Shop will have a 15% off everything sale. From around 4PM we will have a live music show in the cafe. No cover.

Sept 27th
Well we lost our web geek about a month ago, and hence, not alot of changes being made...but, he's here today giving us some tips and pointers. Anyone out there want to volunteer their time for food?

August 18th
The new Tengu catalog is now available. Feels like this took a very long time to get out, but it is finally available.
A new issue of the Tengu Times is also available now.

May 23rd: Alishan Market Day Report
A huge warm thanks to everyone that chanced the dark skies and came out to enjoy the second Alishan Organic Market Day. Last year we held our event in August, and thinking it was too hot opted to try our second event in May. Well, the weather didn't cooperate, and it was chilly. Jack's famous banana smoothy/drink bar was closed before it even had a chance to open and sales of hot chai and coffee were at the top of the list. Oh, and beer. Not like a little cold weather could stop the organic beer from flowing.
Outside we had about 30 vendors ranging from Thai massage therapists to homemade breads, jewelry, soaps, etc. We were very pleased to see so many booths set up. We just wished that the weather would have been better so more people would have come by... perhaps you sense a theme here.
Outside on the cafe deck we enjoyed trhe musical offering of a number of talented artists. I have to admit that life felt nearly perfect with children running around, a warm cup of soy chai, and an accoustic guitar duo singing Neil Young covers. We had a number of people say "Today is the first time I haven't felt like I was in Japan for a long time." It did feel nostalgic.
Once again, a very big thanks to all the artists, vendors, and staff that invested time and energy to making this event a great success. And an even larger thanks to all of you that braved the chance of rain to make it out as a guest. We enjoyed meeting you, and feel blessed that we were finally able to turn respected customers into new-found friends.
Hope to see more of you next time.

Video - Hi Res (10MB) Low Res (3MB)
Slide Show - here less than 1 MB

April 6th
DJ Party a huge success.
A huge thanks to everyone involved in Alishan's first large scale music event. Everyone had a great time, and the final door count came in at over 150...well beyond our expectations. With Jazz and Fusion playing live out on the cafe deck and DJ's spinning their favorite records up on the second floor, our guests were happy to pass the time playing tether tennis, walking along the river, and getting cozy with the organic beer.
We want to thank the organizers of this event for handling themselves in such a professional and courteous way. This is why we set up the Alishan Event Space; to create an environment that is affordable and accessible to any group or organization in a beautiful and open environment. It's here, please come and use it!
See the photos.
Watch the video.

March 10th
Well, with heavy rain and harsh winds it's safe to say Spring is almost here. To celebrate we have a new issue of Tengu Times for you to cuddle up to. Download here.

2002
August 25th: Alishan Market Day - Jack's Event Report
click here for the slide show.

For me our first Market Day was reading weather forecasts everyday and watching the clouds. No need to have bothered. The day was bright and clear. The weather hot, as anyone living in Japan knows.
Fay and I have for years talked of wanting to organize craft and "alternative" fairs. The Alishan Organic Market Day was the first attempt. I think I speak for all of us at Alishan-Tengu in saying we had fun. I think the visitors did too. Some people went diving off the bridge in front of the café whilst others sipped cool drinks all day on the shaded deck.
Market Day had about 15 vendors offering fresh organic produce, herb breads and cakes, composting systems, local hand made pottery and used book vendors to name a few. Jack’s Juice and Smoothie Bar anchored the event more than a Starbuck’s ever could. Organic berry and banana smoothies, Wolavers Organic Brown Ale and fresh squeezed juices helped everyone through the hot day.
A cool retreat was in our barn’s second floor event space where a display of handmade jewelry, mosaics, watercolors could be found. Best of all was a photo collection titled "The History of Tengu" showing all of us slowly aging while shipping natural foods over the last 15 years
At 4PM music started on the deck with Tengu’s own Eitaro Yanagizawa-san leading off with his musical friends. This was the first time his coworkers at Tengu had ever heard him sing. Other groups and musicians kept a nice buzz going till around 9PM. One thing that was nice about the event is it brought many of you out of the woodwork, so to speak. Tengu customers whom we have talked with for years finally appeared at the door giving faces to well-known names. Thanks for coming out. Some traveled by train over 2 &1/2 hours! Thank you, everyone. I hope and think we will have a market day on a regular basis. Maybe just like Japan’s seasons, four times per year. We would like to invite craftspeople, NGO’s , musicians and performers to contact us to be a part of it.

Let's Have a Sprout Party
We would like to thank everyone that came out to celebrate sprouts with us. The weather was beautiful, the live music was soothing, and the company was fantastic! As some of you know, we are planning another event for August. Until then enjoy this little video slide show we put together...click here to view Quick Time slide show.