May 14 (Saturday) Morning
The Gardena Valley Japanese Cultural Insititute Japanese Language School, 1964 West 162nd Street, Gardena, CA 90247
Open House at Gardena JCI Japanese Language School
The purpose of the Open House is to allow parents and their families the opportunity to observe the classes and ask questions regarding enrollment.
The classes are held on Saturdays and geared for children ages 5 to 17, and adult classes are offered too. During the school year, students also have the opportunity to experience various Japanese cultural activities, such as New Year's Celebration, Mochitsuki (traditional rice cake pounding), Undokai (sports day and picnic event), Girl's and Boy's Days, and demonstrations of various Japanese cultural arts.
The new school year will begin on Saturday, September 10, 2011.
For further information, contact the school at jls@jci-gardena.org or call (310) 324-6611.
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May 19 (Thursday) 7:30 pm
Pasadena Museum of History, 470 West Walnut Street, Pasadena, CA 91103
Los Angeles’s Little Tokyo: Discussion and book signing with authors Michael Okamura and Deanna Matsumoto
Michael Okamura and Deanna Matsumoto of Little Tokyo Historical Society are authors of Los Angeles’s Little Tokyo.
They will share with us the development and history of this fascinating neighborhood - a multicultural, multigenerational community that is the largest Nihonmachi (Japantown) in the United States - from its origins in the 1880s to the present day.
Books will be available for purchase and the authors will sign them following the lecture.
Doors open at 6:30 pm for viewing of the Pasadena Museum History’s two current exhibitions, Mad for Hats! and Pasadena Patron: The Life and Legacy of Eva Scott Fenyes.
Wine and cheese reception with the authors included. For information about the exhibitions, please visit www.pasadenahistory.org.
Tickets: Pasadena Museum of History Members Free; Non-Members $5. Reservations suggested; call (626) 577-1660, ext. 10.
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June 18 (Saturday) 3:00 pm
San Fernando Valley Japanese American Community Center, 12953 Branford Street, Pacoima
Reading /// Manzanar – The Story of an American Family
In 2003, Russell McCoy & Dan Taguchi brought their musical Manzanar- The Story of An American Family to the Japan American Theatre in Little Tokyo.
The San Fernando Valley Japanese American Citizens League presents this musical at the SFVJA Community Center in Pacoima on Saturday, June 18, at 3:00 p.m.
Manzanar – The Story of An American Family is presented as a reading. It personalizes the experience of upheaval and discrimination that Japanese Americans endured during WWII when the government ordered all people of Japanese decent to be interned.
Twelve-year-old Margaret has dreams of becoming a big band singer, but her hopes are shattered by the 1941 bombing of Pearl Harbor. Margaret and her family’s lives are changed forever as they are relocated from their San Pedro home to the Manzanar Internment Camp.
Manzanar shows how one girl’s broken dreams eventually give her the strength and courage to rebuild her life.
Tickets will be $15. For more information, contact Nancy Gohata at yaiko16@verizon.net or (818) 899-4237.
Bento (meal box) may be purchased after the performance for $10.
Make checks payable to SFVJACL. Send to Nancy Gohata, 14229 Carl Street, Arleta, CA 91331.
