Houstonia’s The Must List tells you about something going on in Houston that you absolutely cannot miss.

“Coziness” seems to be on everyone’s minds this year. It’s a quality showing up more in the literature we consume, the hobbies we pursue, and even in the video games we play. Perhaps because we conditioned ourselves toward seeking and appreciating comforting pleasures as a direct result of COVID-19 lockdowns. Perhaps because the ugly stressors of the world around us drive us toward finding beauty in all its forms. Perhaps both, or neither.

Regardless of our motivations, even a hustle-and-bustle concrete cosmopolis like Houston offers creative outlets for accessible, no-pressure, noncompetitive activities, where the only expectation is that you show up and have fun. Family Fold—which centers around learning origami, the Japanese art of paperfolding—is one such option.

For the past two years, Japan-America Society Houston (JASH) has presented the free monthly event on the second Saturday of each month at Evelyn’s Park in Bellaire. The organization provides everything one needs for beginner, intermediate, and advanced origami projects, and chooses a theme that corresponds with a Japanese holiday, festival, or special event. Last month, the meetup celebrated Keirō no Hi, or Respect for the Aged Day, which occurs on the third Monday of September. Each of the projects selected for the event reflected an animal renowned for its wisdom, much like elderly people: There were owls for beginners, turtles for intermediates, and cranes for the more advanced origami enthusiasts.

Lately, however, JASH has also been incorporating American holidays into its themes. In October, attendees learned how to make appropriately Halloweeny paper-folding projects: a ghost and witch hat for beginners and intermediates, and advanced folders can try their hands at jack-o’-lanterns. “We can teach Japanese culture, and then also correlate American culture as well,” says Mai Oashi, JASH’s Japan outreach initiative coordinator.

Family Fold usually attracts between 20 and 30 people to each event—a combination of curious park visitors, parents with young children, groups of teens and young adults hoping to improve their origami skills, and individuals interested in learning more about the art. To Oashi and her team, origami is an ideal introduction to Japanese culture. People of any age and skill level can take part, and the only supply needed to get started is a square piece of paper (though, JASH also provides markers for greater customization). The organization also offers hands-on lessons from volunteers with well-honed origami skills—ask, and you might learn a shortcut, or even a way to get your crane to flap its wings. There are also flyers fanned out on the tables that participants can take home and use for practice, an encouraging medium that reinforces Oashi's belief that “origami is very simple.” Just one piece of paper can yield “pretty artworks,” be they cranes or turtles. In its essence, “origami is traditional play,” she says.

Through this cultural bridging, visitors unfamiliar with Japan, its language, and its people can find parallels between their own traditions and those of the East Asian country. While most Houstonians may not celebrate Keirō no Hi, exposure to the holiday through origami lessons can prompt reflection on their own relationships with seniors and how Japan and the US observe holidays like Halloween. For example, trick-or-treating isn’t as popular in Japan as it is in America; Halloween there centers more on either small neighborhood parties or big city bashes. The October Family Fold, then, proved to be an opportunity to discuss the similarities and differences over stacks of colorful paper squares and Crayola markers.

JASH’s origami lessons aren’t just relegated to this monthly event, either. They’ve brought both the art and introductions to Japanese life and culture to other spots around Houston, teaching the art of paperfolding at schools, libraries, and retirement homes, and to anyone who wishes to learn. “If there's any request, we always go there,” Oashi says, and it always starts the same: “You just need to fold.”