The tour of the musical "Bando," which recreates Taiwan's outdoor banquet culture, will conclude in Taipei Saturday, after eight shows in towns across the island over the past year, the organizer, the National Theater and Concert Hall (NTCH), said Friday (Nov.13).

First premiered in Taichung's Dali District in November 2019, the musical is an annual project by the art venue to bring performances to towns and areas in Taiwan and was inspired by the story of master banquet caterer Lin Ming-tsang (林明燦), who also has a role on stage, according to the NTCH.

Outdoor banquets have long been part of traditional life in Taiwanese society. They are held in front of temples to show appreciation to the deities, or in public spaces to mark important moments in life such as weddings, birthdays, moving into a new home and funerals, the NTCH noted.

"The flavors of food can evoke memory and emotions," said Fan Chung-chi (樊宗錡), an NTCH artist-in-residence who wrote and directed the musical with Lin's help, in an earlier statement.

The current tour, which is free to the public, was originally set to conclude in Taipei in February in the plaza between the National Theater and National Concert Hall, but the performances had to be postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The NTCH resumed the tour, starring singer-actor Yong Lea (楊烈) as a master caterer in the 1950s, in October, adding four performances in Taoyuan, Tainan, Taitung and Pingtung before the final performance in Taipei.

The musical features several classic songs that bring the audience back to the old days and tells the story of the relationship between Yong's role and his son, with banquet dishes prepared on site, according to the NTCH.

The first performance of the resumed tour in front of the Renshow Temple in Tainan drew nearly 2,000 people, the organizer said.

While the 3,000 free seats available in a blocked-in area in front of the stage have all been taken through an online system set up in compliance with the government's COVID-19 rules requiring outdoor event organizers to register all attendees' contact information, people can still see the show from outside the reserved area in the plaza, the NTCH said.

The 90-minute show is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.