WEBVTT

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(crowd chanting and cheering)

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- [Narrator] Marines and sailors from Marine Corps

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Air Station Iwakuni paraded through the streets

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of Iwakuni Sunday, October 16th, to commemorate the 60th

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annual Iwakuni Festival.

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- When I found out we were the first marines to actually

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be in the festival for the first time in like 20 years,

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so I thought it was pretty cool to be a part of that.

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- [Narrator] The city of Iwakuni, Iwakuni Chamber of

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Commerce and Industry, and the Iwakuni Tourism Association

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host the festival each year.

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- It's like really easy, probably like eight steps to it.

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We kind of just walk to the beat of the music,

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and we had our little sticks with us

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with the bells on it.

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So, it's pretty much up in the air, down low.

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It was pretty simple.

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- [Narrator] The parade made its way through

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the shopping area of downtown before performing

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on Route 188.

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The town closed off about 400 meters of the popular street

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to accommodate for the influx of people.

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And vendors and bystanders filled the streets and sidewalks

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to witness the closing parade.

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A volunteer described what she enjoyed the most.

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- Actually being in the festival and seeing everybody

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doing the same movements.

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I thought it was cool that everybody

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was actually doing the same thing at the same time.

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- [Narrator] Different colored outfits and yukatas

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separated each organization as they paraded

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down the streets.

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- We're in a whole other country so we gotta

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show them we're respecting them and helping them out also.

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- [Narrator] Reporting from downtown Iwakuni, Japan,

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I'm Lance Corporal Sara Abrego.