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By 2009, the biennial pattern had established itself so once more Buxton met Sapporo. The group from Yamabiko-Za Children’s Theatre, which included many of those involved in the previous two exchanges, visited Buxton during the 2009 Buxton Puppet Festival.

The exchange centred around a shared evening of youth performances at the Buxton Opera House. See Yamabiko-Za’s performance here. See Funny Wonders’ performance here.

There was also a ‘Sapporo Day’ with the opportunity to learn traditional Japanese dance and drumming and a day of Taiko drumming street performances at the Pavilion Gardens bandstand and in Spring Gardens. The drummers played so enthusiastically in Spring Gardens that they set off the alarms in several shops!

Local activities included a tour of Poole’s Cavern, a picnic at Solomon’s Temple, a stroll through the Pavilion Gardens and watching local band Purple Cloud of Funk. The exchange ended with a party at the Orchestra Pit and a glum farewell outside the Buxton Opera House.

The exchange received UK funding from The Bingham Trust, The Japan Society and the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation and Japanese funding from Expo ’70 and the Hokkaido Arts Foundation. The exchange was the success it was also due to the generosity of local businesses such as Compton House Guest House and Grosvenor House and local residents.