News

Report from the NNMHC Auxiliary Committee: MOCHITSUKI DAY AT NIKKEI PLACE

The Organizing members of the NNM&HC Auxiliary Committee would like to express their heartfelt appreciation to all the volunteer helpers (below) whose tireless efforts and hard work made Mochitsuki Day 2009 such an enjoyable success. Hopefully, we are all helping to keep alive one of those traditional Nikkei activities by presenting Mochitsuki Day each year. Thanks to Mits Hayashi and Stan & Mas Fukawa for looking after the mochitsuki demonstrations. Thank you also to the all the people who came out to support and enjoy the day, and participate in mochitsuki. We regret that, due to the large numbers of people, we were not able to provide everyone with fresh mochi and we apologize. Hopefully, next year we will have more for everyone. A big thank-you to Nikkei Place staff who assisted us in organizing and setting up the events of the day.

Volunteers: Kay Akada, Fumi Aura, Ed Arinobu, Yoshi Aura, Jane Ayukawa, Karol Dubitz, John Dubitz, Megan Duncan, Stan Fukawa, Masako Fukawa, Frank Hamanishi, Pat Hamanishi, Yoshi Hashimoto, Nobbie Hatanaka, Mits Hayashi, Kazuyo Hirai, Minnie Hattori, Wayne Hirayama, Elaine Homma, Fumi Horii, Kaz Ishii, Mari Ishii, May Ishikawa, Akiko Ito, Kumi Iwanaka, Don Iwanaka, Carole Iwanaka, Joyce Kamikura, Roger Kamikura, Frank Kamiya, Naomi Kamiya, George Kimura, Sato Kobayashi, Kaz Koyanagi, Reiko Kurushima, Mary Matsuba, Yumi Matsuda, Dave Minamata, Kiyomi Minamata, Elmer Morishita, Janet Nasu, Roberta Nasu, Tony Nasu, Lisa Nasu, Evy Negoro, Mich Obara, Takako Ochi, Sachi Okamura, Ruby Okano, Joyce Oikawa, Susie Oyama, Vickie Parnell, Kim Sakakibara, Mike Sokugawa, Reiko Tagami, Avalon Tagami, Tom Tagami, Leslie Wada, Winfrey Wong, Roy Yabuki, Bob Yamaoka, Bev Yamaura, Dave Yamaura, Kaori Yano, Keiko Yano, Mas Yano, Moe Yesaki, George Yoshihara, Lillian Yoshihara, Dennis Yoshioka

Donations and services in kind: Killarney Market, Yamato Trading Co. Ltd., Eileen Walsh, Vancouver Japanese Gardeners Assoc., Sonray Sales.

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Ways to Support National Nikkei Museum & Heritage Centre this Holiday season!

TREE OF PROSPERITY
The colourful Tree of Prosperity, located in the Heritage Centre foyer, is a major annual fundraiser for the Museum & Heritage Centre and once again we are asking for your help to make the tree grow! We want our programs to join the ranks of leading Canadian and international cultural organizations, and to engage more Canadian families through fun, growth and education. For our 2010 plans to be successful, more leaves are needed. Please help us to see our tree grow, leaf by leaf, and keep Nikkei heritage alive! Please call the Centre at 604.777.7000 to make your donation or for more information.

NIKKEI PLACE FOUNDATION: A gift in perpetuity
The Nikkei Place Foundation is a charitable foundation with an endowment fund for Nikkei Place. Donations go to an endowment which is invested in an interest-bearing account, and the interest generated on such gifts is allotted for programs of the National Nikkei Museum & Heritage Centre and Nikkei Seniors Healthcare and Housing Society. Each year the Foundation has made a development grant to NNMHC from the interest earned on the Foundation’s cash assets. To make a gift, or for more information, please contact us at 604.777.7000 ext. 104.

HOLIDAY GIFT IDEAS:

• Buy a membership for yourself or for a family member or loved one!
• Come to Shiwasu, the Museum shop show and sale, and cross off everyone from your holiday shopping list! Also on feature are gorgeous framed photographs of Wild Birds by Roy Hamaguchi, displayed on our hallway walls and for sale at great prices!
• Buy a Leaf on the Tree of Prosperity and dedicate it to a loved one.

Report on Events

The 9th Annual Craft & Bake Fair on November 21st was another successful and enjoyable day for the thousands of shoppers who visited that day. As usual we had long line ups in the morning and the Centre was bustling with crowds until the end of the event. We would like to thank the 70 vendors who presented their one of a kind crafts, baking and others, event coordinator Nichola Ogiwara, and a huge thanks to the volunteers who helped with registration and the raffle: Elaine Homma, Michiyo Hugh, Criss Zhang.

Be sure to come out to the Centre this month for our two community events sponsored by the NNMHC Auxiliary, including Breakfast with Santa on Saturday, December 5 at 9:30am and Mochitsuki on Tuesday, December 29, 12:30-3:30pm.

Come check out the Christmas Tree Extravaganza in the Ellipse Lobby in the Heritage Centre for a gorgeous winter wonderland of beautifully decorated trees sponsored by your favourite local businesses and individuals! This event is free to the public and runs during normal Heritage Centre operating hours between November 21-December 23.

Congratulations to Cathy Makihara, Naomi Yamamoto and Roy Miki!

On November 10, the Vancouver chapter of National Association of Asian American Professionals (NAAAP) celebrated Asian Canadians who have demonstrated extraordinary leadership in their communities. Nikkei Place’s very own Cathy Makihara was nominated in the Community Service category, writer Roy Miki was nominated in the Arts and Media category; and MLA Naomi Yamamoto was honoured in the Business category. Several members of the NNMHC board attended this exciting event.

A Year of Transition: Committee Reports

Human Resources Committee (Gordon Kadota, Chair)
NMMHC was thrilled to introduce to the team in 2009, new Museum Director-Curator, Beth Carter; Collections Manager, Alexis Jensen; and Education Coordinator, Dana Bjarnason; and on the Centre side, new Office Assistant Aya Iwatsuki, and new book-keeper Ella Law. It’s a large adjustment to have so many new staff at one time, but each team member contributes much experience, skill and a great personality. It is an exciting time to be looking forward to new projects and accomplishments!

Fundraising Committee (Derral Moriyama, Chair)
Despite the funding challenges that all charitable organizations faced in 2009, we are pleased to announce that we raised approximately $23,000 at our annual Gala dinner on October 23, thanks to the hard work of our staff and directors! NNMHC is also entering into a new arrangement with the Nikkei Place Foundation (NPF), whereby the new Executive Director of NPF will focus on fundraising for all three organizations in Nikkei Place. Plans in 2010 include several new projects celebrating the Museum & Heritage Centre’s 10th anniversary and a very special commemorative Gala dinner on September 24. The Committee will continue to focus on fundraising efforts and bringing awareness of what NNMHC contributes to the greater community. We are grateful to our new and continuing supporters who have shown their generosity and demonstrated their commitment to our programs and services.

Communications Committee (Robert Banno & Mitsuo Hayashi, co-Chairs)
The Communications Committee has become more active in 2009, working to improve the nikkeiplace.org website, developing new frameworks for printed publications and materials, and planning for a re-branding session in 2010. If you haven’t already visited our new website, complete with event and program calendars, please do so: www.nikkeiplace.org. We’d love to hear your feedback!

FARMERS MARKET REPORT

We had another busy and successful Farmers Market on October 3, 2009! Thank you to the NNMHC Auxiliary for all their hard work!

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The NNM&HC Auxiliary gratefully thanks the following volunteers and donors who helped to make the 2009 Farmers Market a successful event.
Volunteers: Kay Akada, Fumi Aura, Yosh Aura, Jane Ayukawa, John Dubitz, Karol Dubitz, Frank Hamanishi, Pat Hamanishi, Yoshi Hashimoto, Nobbie Hatanaka, Minnie Hattori, Kazuyo Hirai, Wayne Hirayama, Fumi Horii, Elaine Homma, Sam Hori, Mas Hori, Carole Iwanaka, Ed Iwanaka, Kumi Iwanaka, Don Iwanaka, Kaz Ishii, Mari Ishii, Akiko Ito, Frank Kamiya, Naomi Kamiya, Jimmie Kim, George Kimura, Mas Kitagawa, Kaz Koyanagi, Terry Koyanagi, Joan Kraayvanger, Reiko Kurushima, Craig Maruyama, Yoko Matsuno, Tom Matsuno, Mary Matsuba, Keiko Mayede, Dave Minamata, Kiyomi Minamata, Elmer Morishita, Janet Nasu, Roberta Nasu, Lisa Nasu, Sachi Okamura, Mich Obara, Ruby Okano, Susie Oyama, Satch Ryujin, Kazuko Rezansof, Kim Sakakibara, Masumi Sakamoto, Mike Sokugawa, Avalon Tagami, Tom Tagami , Yumi Tajitsu, Rosemarie Takeuchi, Leslie Wada, Eileen Walsh, Roy Yabuki, Bev Yamaura, Dave Yamaura, Keiko Yano, Kaori Yano, Mas Yano

Donations in Kind: Pat Brady, Karol Dubitz, Fujiya, Yoshi Hashimoto, Yae Hayashi, Anita Hui, Don Iwanaka, Frank Kamiya, George Kimura, Mr. Matsuda, May Mukaida, Mr. K. Nakamoto, Oscar’s Orchard, Mario Porreca, Mr. Kozo Shimooka, Rosemarie Takeuchi, Judy To, Yamato Trading

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BC Gaming News

Along with many, many other arts and cultural organizations in British Columbia, National Nikkei Museum & Heritage Centre received notice on August 28 that we had been denied BC Gaming funding for 2009. This is terrible news for us, as we have counted on this BC Gaming support as part of our operations budget for many years. Because of the recent decline in corporate and government financial support due to the global economic crisis, we rely more and more on our individual donors.

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$15,000 Grant for the Learning Centre from UPS Foundation
Carl Yokota is a dedicated Nikkei Place volunteer who really delivers! Employed by UPS, a worldwide delivery company, Carl initiated a grant application that has secured a $15,000 UPS Foundation grant for the NNMHC in support of the Learning Centre, one of our important education programs. A huge thank you to the UPS Foundation! And a huge thank you to Carl Yokota! Carl’s support and encouragement throughout the grant application process was much appreciated. Thank you, Carl, for always thinking of us and making a huge difference in our organization!

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REPORT ON IMPERIAL VISIT

As reported upon in our August Nikkei Place Update, Nikkei Place had the great honour of hosting a visit by Their Majesties, Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko on July 13. The event attracted a large crowd in the Nikkei Garden welcoming the Imperial Couple as they entered the Museum & Heritage Centre. Many people have enjoyed the two sets of photo displays, which were up until the end of August: Her Majesty, The Empress and the Children, and Their Majesties, the Emperor and Empress and their Travel.

We could not have planned such a successful event without the help of our very dedicated volunteers and staff:

Robert Yamaoka, Kazumi Higashi, Cameron Reid, Erika Sommerville, Hisako Izumi, Alison Scott, Takao Izumi, Mimi Horita, Nami Tokuyama, Elaine Homma, Kay Akada, Linda Reid, Miki Takinami, Junko Tomita, Mariko Hisanaga, Harumi Suzuki, Yaeko Suzuki, Mieko Miki, Nobby Hatanaka, Mio Yamada, Seiko Suehiro, Fumi Aura, Yosh Aura, Minnie Hattori, Fumiko Horii, Satoko Kobayashi, Kay Koyanagi, Setsuko Masunaka, Mary Matsuba, Roberta Nasu, Mich Obara, Ruby Okano, Kazuko Rezansoff, Kim Sakakibara, Tom Tagami, Leslie Wada, Ariko Banks, Aki Mimoto, Tara Pagnottaro, Satomi Nakamura, Miyuki Azuma, Harue Udagawa, Yumiko Inoue, Yoko Watase, Mary Ohara, Yumiko Kondo, Yuko Liew, Beth Carter, Alexis Jensen, Yujin Fukao, Bosco Ho, Charlyn Cruz, Laura Hough, Sean Riley, Simon Ng, Jacky Wei-ting Chen, Hidetoshi Kurashige, Aya Iwatsuki.

A special thanks to the members of the Preparation Committee who worked for months to organize the event: Mits Hayashi (Chair), Avalon Tagami, Gordon Kadota, Robert Nimi, Naoto Horita, Sam Yamamoto, Yoko Banks, Yoko Murakami, Nichola Ogiwara, Reiko Miki, Shinobu Mekada, Yoshi Hashimoto, Ruth Coles, Miko Hoffman, Suni Arinobu, Cathy Makihara, Robert Banno, Craig Natsuhara.

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REPORT ON POWELL STREET FESTIVAL

NNM&HC had a great time at PSF this year! The temporary venue was a beautiful park in a convenient location, but we are looking forward to returning to Powell Street in historic Japantown next year!

We participated in many ways, including the Nikkei Place Tent, at which we handed out information and our program guides, sold many books from the Museum shop; the Museum display at Britannia Community Centre; the Asahi tribute baseball game; and Powell Street walking tours. All were a success! We received many comments from community members about the importance of what we are doing here at Nikkei Place. Many thanks to all of the staff and volunteers who helped us out with all of our activities at PSF.

In other PSF-related news, the New-to-You group, a group of crafty seniors, had a very successful and enjoyable experience at the Festival. Many people visited their booth and they had a lot of fun selling their re-worked vintage jewelry. Apparently some people came to the Festival just to go shopping at their booth! Proceeds of the sales went to St. Augustines Church, Powell Street Festival, Tonari Gumi and NNM&HC. Thank you to everyone for their kind support and donations!

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SPECIAL THANKS TO THE VOLUNTEER AUXILIARY
In past years, the NNMHC Volunteer Auxiliary have been donors and faithful volunteers, and they have shown their continuing support with a donation to be put towards the repair of the Museum & Heritage Centre’s cooling and heating systems, which have been struggling since the extreme winter we experienced in December 2008. This donation will benefit all of NNMHC, including staff, volunteers, visitors and guests. The Volunteer Auxiliary has spent countless hours in the kitchen baking manju, and organizing bazaars and events to raise funds, which they passed on to the Centre. Most recently, the Auxiliary organized the Spring Food and Plant Bazaar on May 23, which was another popular and successful event!

From all the directors, staff, participants, volunteers and the community, arigato gozaimasu for giving us the fruit of your hard labor!

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WELCOME TO THE 2009 BOARD OF DIRECTORS
At our 2009 Annual General Meeting on May 24, the slate of 24 directors was elected, as follows: Justin Ault, Yoko Banks, Robert Banno, Ruth Coles, Reverend Orai Fujikawa, Stan Fukawa, Gordon Goto, Mitsuo Hayashi, Naoto Horita, Gordon Kadota, Paul Kariya, David Masuhara, Derral Moriyama, Clarke Nakamoto, Craig Natsuhara, Robert Nimi, Dan Nomura, Carrie Okano, Dennis Shikaze, Henry Shimizu, Avalon Tagami, Sian Tasaka, Fred Yada, Sam Yamamoto. We welcome new directors Justin Ault, Gordon Goto and Carrie Okano.

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NEW!! Asahi: Canadian Baseball Legends
This is the story of the Vancouver Asahi baseball team whose home ground was Oppenheimer Park in Vancouver from 1914 to 1941. The online exhibit is presented in four chapters: Building the Club, Triumph, Pride of the Community and the Asahi Legacy which can each be explored in depth with many images, sound bites, and film. A timeline of events in team history and the history of Canada’s Nikkei community, as well as teachers

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