Reporter staff

Auburn embraced the spirited sights and sounds of the Bon Odori Festival at the White River Buddhist Temple on a sun-splashed Saturday.

Hundreds of people took in Obon dancing, listened to Taiko drumming and enjoyed other Japanese cultural traditions and cuisine at the annual festival that celebrates the mid-summer holiday of Obon, a time for Buddhists to honor their ancestors and Japanese heritage.

Obon is celebrated with dance and Toro Nagashi, the floating of lanterns inscribed with the names of ancestors, symbolizing the return of their spirits to the other shore, from whence they came.

The festival included the traditional Children’s Lantern Parade and lion dance (shishi-mai), services, special greetings and introductions, and performances from the Okinawa Kenjin-Kai Taiko and Seattle Matsuri Takio groups.