Have you ever been to a Mazda Fan Festival? I’ve heard people describe it in many ways. Some say it’s basically a playground for automotive enthusiasts. Others describe it as like visiting a Mazda museum. And yet others describe it as a melting pot of Mazda aftermarket car parts and hard-to-find Mazda-branded paraphernalia.
And while all of these are correct, I’m wondering why people often forget to describe it for what it also truly is – an exciting event for the family! Yes… The Mazda Fan Festa is also for the family!
And it’s not as surprising as you might think. After all, Mazda’s philosophy is rooted in creating human-centered experiences. And there was a lot of that, as I’ve witnessed myself in this year’s Mazda Fan Festa held at the picturesque Fuji Speedway in Japan.
As you may have expected, all the Mazda Fan Festivals are exactly what the name says they are – Festivals dedicated to the fandom of everything that is Mazda. And so, of course the entrance to the Fuji Speedway for the 2024 Mazda Fan Festa was already teeming with Mazda vehicles of all kinds and colors… And of course, the festival grounds were laced with the full spectrum of curated Mazda classics and heavily customized RX-7s and RX-8s. And let’s not forget the handsomest from all 4 generations of the Mazda MX-5 – from the NA to the ND. I think these are all consistent with the popular opinion of what a Mazda Fanfest – or Mazda Fan Festa, as they call it in Japan – truly is.
But let me tell you a little bit more.
Did you know that I was thrilled to see many of the Japanese Mazda fans come as a family? Many of them took their wives and young children… and perhaps there were also wives who chose to bring along their husbands. This to me, stood out as one of the main reasons why Mazda Fan Festivals are truly different from the other car festivals – the Mazda Fan Festivals are effortlessly inclusive! They are for the entire family.
How do I substantiate such a claim? Well, for starters, the event features Mazda classics which can appeal to both the nostalgia of older generations and the curiosity of the younger ones. I witnessed a queue of father-son tandems who took turns to lift their young sons into the driver’s seat of a beautifully maintained RX-7.
The event also includes interactive exhibits where kids and adults can experience Mazda’s technologies and innovations. And there are opportunities for children to engage with scaled-down versions of Mazda vehicles; even opportunities to build mini Mazda models or parts (yes, parts!!) via a lineup of on-site children’s workshops.
Furthermore, there are special zones at the Fan Festa which serve as kids’ play areas, in order to enable the parents to explore the grounds further while their young children are entertained.
I saw small Japanese families shop for exclusive Mazda toys and merchandise together. And if that still wasn’t enough, let me tell you that there was also a petting station within the Fan Festa, simply dedicated to allow people to pet the cutest Akita dogs for relaxation. Don’t all these, put together, simply sound one-of-a-kind??
Speaking of being inclusive of all ages, did you know that Yojiro Terada, the star driver of the legendary Mazda 787B (the first Japanese racecar to win the 24 hours of Le Mans, which was typically dominated by European powerhouses back in the day), already turned 77 years old this year!? And yet there he was – fresh and sharp as ever – giving out interviews to the press, after having just driven the rotary-engine-powered Mazda 787B out on the track as part of an exhibition run.
The #55 Mazda 787B is a true showstopper with its striking (and original!) livery in orange and green. It carries a 4-rotor Wankel rotary engine, which produces an unmistakeable high-pitched scream at 10,500rpm. During its stint at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, this engine delivered approximately 700 hp with exceptional reliability.
And from then on, it became iconic for showcasing Mazda’s boldness and pursuit for unconventional engineering solutions.
Seeing it in person can be a rare and emotional experience because it is not just a car… it is a piece of Japanese motorsport history! A celebration of Mazda’s daring spirit.
Of course, the magic of the rotary engine continues to be celebrated through Mazda’s popular RX series. Also featured at the 2024 Fuji Speedway Fan Festa were the 35th anniversary Mazda MX-5 and the Spirit Racing RX Concept MX-5.
What was clear to me was the strength of loyalty Mazda owners had for the brand, and how the loyalty ran deep through families, sometimes even across generations.
Though that seems to come only naturally from a small Japanese company that continues to make human-centric cars that are meant to deliver emotional experiences.
Yes, Mazda Fan Festivals are for everyone.
