Nakayoshi Monthly Update - March 2009

Hey everyone, we've got a lot of great stuff coming up this month, but first off, let's quickly give recognition to some of our members for their contributions at our February events. A huge THANK YOU goes out ot those of you who volunteered at the Bay Area Day of Remembrance on February 22, 2009. Special thanks are also in order for Lisa Masai, Rylan Sekiguchi and Misono Allen for their hard work on the program booklet! We'd also like to say GREAT JOB to Ali Kagawa and Corey Jamieson for helping put together an incredible weekend up at Tahoe for Nakayoshi's first ski trip last weekend, and thanks goes out to all our drivers as well. Hope you guys all had a great time! Make sure to check out all the pictures from our events on our Facebook Group page and the Nakayoshi online photo gallery.

This month we have a few fun things going on in connection with the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival (SFIAAFF), as well as an opportunity to volunteer at the Nichi Bei Times' Tofu Festival later in the month. Let us know if you can make it out, and as always, bring a friend or two with you! Also, watch out for the unveiling of an updated Nakayoshi website coming soon at www.nakayoshi.org! You can take a sneak peek of the new site here.

In this update (new events in bold):
3/12-19/09 - Volunteer at SFIAAFF
3/13/09 - Monthly Social: Tokyo Sonata screening at SFIAAFF, Dinner and Karaoke after
3/14/09 - Happy Hour with Filmmaker Tad Nakamura and Hapihour.org
3/22/09 - Volunteer at Nichibei Times Tofu Festival
3/29/09 - Nakayoshi Monthly Meeting

March 12-March 19, 2009: Volunteer at the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival (SFIAAFF)

The 27th annual SFIAAFF, which showcases the best Asian and Asian American films from around the globe, takes place March 12-22, 2009 in San Francisco, Berkeley and San Jose. The SF portion of the festival runs from March 12th to the 19th.

Come volunteer with Nakayoshi at the SFIAAAFF! Benefits include:

• Vouchers for festival screenings
• Meeting film industry professionals and fellow film enthusiasts
• Official Festival T-shirt
• Volunteer Appreciation Party
• Working off parking or traffic tickets incurred at various cities throughout the Bay Area through Project 20
• Hanging out with your super cool friends at Nakayoshi!

How to volunteer with Nakayoshi at the SFIAAFF:
1. Register with Nakayoshi by e-mailing nakayoshi.ncwnp@gmail.com with your name and e-mail. Any questions about volunteering at the festival should be directed to the Nakayoshi e-mail address above.
2. Register with the Center for Asian American Media's Shiftboard at http://www.shiftboard.com/caam. Be sure to write "Nakayoshi" somwhere in the "Why would you like to volunteer for our festival" section.


Friday, March 14, 2009: Monthly Social - Tokyo Sonata (and dinner and karaoke after!)

Thank you to those of you who have reserved your tickets to the movie screening. We sold out! In case you weren't able to score one of our tickets, don't worry, we have a fun night planned after the movie as well! We hope that you can join us for dinner and karaoke in SF Japantown following the movie. A late dinner following the movie will be at Cafe Mum's at 10:00pm to be followed with karaoke action at DoReMi at 11:15pm. Let us know if you can make it by emailing us at nakayoshi.ncwnp@gmail.com.

Schedule - Friday, March 14, 2009

• 5:30pm-6:00pm: Optional ticket pick-up time, Anderson Bakery (inside the Kintetsu Building in the Japan Center mall)
• 6:00pm-6:20pm: Meet in front of Sundance Kabuki Theater. If you are not at the theater by 6:30, we will be forced to give up your ticket! This is a SFIAAFF rule, and we cannot make exceptions!
• 6:30pm: Seating for Tokyo Sonata begins
• 6:45pm: Tokyo Sonata screening begins
• 8:45pm: Tokyo Sonata ends, hanging out begins (feel free to invite your friends, but please RSVP to nakayoshi.ncwnp@gmail.com so we know to look for you!)
• 10:00pm: Dinner @ Cafe Mum's (inside Hotel Tomo) for hungry people
• 11:15pm: Karaoke @ DoReMi Music Studio

Saturday, March 14, 2009: Happy Hour with Filmmaker Tad Nakamura and Hapihour.org

Our friends at Hapihour.org have generously added Nakayoshi as co-hosts along with Dale Minami, Yuri Kochiyama, Audee Kochiyama Holman, Marjorie Fujiki, Diane Matsuda, Eddie Wong and Keith Kamisugi of their happy hour at A5 Steak Lounge to celebrate the screening of young JA Tad Nakamura's newest film, "A Song for Ourselves" at SFIAAFF. Tad will be at the happy hour in person for those of you who'd like to meet him! The event is free with no-host bar. Food will be available for order in the lounge.

More information on the happy hour and Tad's film can be found on the Nakayoshi blog at www.nakayoshi.org. Also, check out the movie's blog at: http://asongforourselves.blogspot.com

Date: Saturday, March 14, 2009
Where: A5 Steak Lounge, 244 Jackson, St., San Francisco
Time: 6:30pm
Make sure to RSVP on Facebook or evite.com!


Sunday, March 22, 2009: Tofu Dessert Competition and Festival Volunteer Event

Join Nakayoshi as we volunteer at the Nichi Bei Times' first Tofu Dessert Competition and Festival! The festival will take place on Sunday, March 22nd at the Japanese Cultural & Community Center of Northern California (JCCCNC) in Japantown. It will include a tofu dessert competition, a tofu nutritionist talk show, tofu games, and a haiku contest.

The Nichi Bei Times will donate 50% of the proceeds from this event to the Nihonmachi Little Friends, a community-based, Japanese bilingual and multicultural childcare organization. Nihonmachi Little Friends provides quality and affordable childcare services while incorporating Japanese language and curriculum into their programs. To learn more about the Nihonmachi Little Friends, please visit: www.nlfchildcare.org.

If you would like to volunteer for this event, please e-mail nakayoshi.ncwnp@gmail.com with the shifts that you would like to sign up for. Lunch will be provided for those who can volunteer the whole day.

Just want to attend this event without committing as a volunteer? Tickets are available pre-sale and at the door. Please see prices listed below. For more information about this event or to purchase pre-sale tickets online, please go to: http://www.nichibeitimes.com/e/tofu_festival.html

Date: Sunday, March 22, 2009
Time: 2:00-4:00pm (see below for volunteer shifts)
Where: JCCCNC, 1840 Sutter Street, San Francisco, CA 94115
Ticket Prices: Pre-sale - $10; At the door - $12; Children 3 and under - Free
Volunteer Shifts: E-mail nakayoshi.ncwnp@gmail.com to sign up!

• 11:00am-2:00pm (6-8 volunteers) - Event set up (lunch provided to all-day volunteers)
• 2:00pm-4:00pm (8 volunteers) - Event support (ticket takers, vendor booth assistants, Haiku panel assistant*)
• 4:00pm-6:30pm (6-8 volunteers) - Event clean up

*need someone who can read and write in Japanese

Sunday, March 29, 2009: March Monthly Meeting

Have ideas for fun socials or volunteer opportunities? As always, we'd love to see new and old faces at our monthly meeting to give us feedback and help us plan future Nakayoshi events and activities! Come on out and get involved!

Date: Sunday, March 29, 2009
Location: National JACL Headquarters, 1765 Sutter St., San Francisco, CA 94115
Time: 1:00pm-4:00pm

All Nakayoshi events are free and open to anyone unless otherwise noted. Feel free to forward this message along to your friends or anyone interested. Not on the Nakayoshi e-mail list? Click here to subscribe. Have questions? Want to sign up or RSVP for an event? E-mail Nakayoshi at nakayoshi.ncwnp@gmail.com. For additional information and updates, be sure to check the Nakayoshi blog and website and http://www.nakayoshi.org, or find our group page on Facebook! Nakayoshi is a program sponsored by the Northern California Western Nevada Pacific District of the Japanese American Citizens League.