Nichi Bei Times to Close Down

FIRST: Don't miss the recently posted monthly update for August.

NOW:
Head over to the new website for the Nichi Bei Foundation for more information; currently posted is a news article about the closing by Justine Koo Drennan from New America Media, as well as a pair of letters, one from the Nichi Bei Times board of directors and one from company vice president and English edition editor Kenji Taguma. There is also a donation button to help the emerging foundation, for the charitably inclined.

There's much more to say about these developments, but for the time being, the information linked to above should suffice in publicizing the situation. Please visit that website.

Monthly Update - August 2009

August is closing out, but Nakayoshi still has some updates for you!

There's been a lot going on this past month, and more still to come! Hopefully some of you were there with us this past month as we met the creators of Secret Identities graphic novel anthology on Asian American superheroes, volunteered and odori'd at the Mountain View Obon Festival, and stargazed in the Planetarium at the CA Academy of Sciences' NightLife event. August has also been busy. Nakayoshi members helped the American Cancer Society raise over $16,000 to fight cancer at the Relay for Life in Daly City and followed up the next weekend by volunteering with the Japanese Community Youth Council at the Childrens' Village game and craft booths at the annual Nihonmachi Street Fair in San Francisco's Japantown. Nakayoshi members also attended the community viewing of short videos produced for the REEL Nikkei Stories project at the JCCCNC.

We're heading to the mountains for some nature and kayaking at our Lake Tahoe camping trip this coming weekend, and finishing out the month with the next Nakayoshi meeting on August 30. This month also marks our transition into a quarterly meeting format, so come and check out what else is in the works for the coming months! Make sure you also check out the details below on Japanese Heritage Day with the Oakland A's, a dinner benefit to help fight Hepatitis B and Nakayoshi's next sushi-making class coming at you in September!

Have any comments or questions? Want to RSVP or sign up for an event? Feel free to leave any comments on our blog at http://www.nakayoshi.org/, Facebook group page, or e-mail us at nakayoshi.ncwnp@gmail.com.

In this update:
8/21-23/09 - Tahoe Camping Trip
8/27/09 - Hepatitis B Awareness Dinner (RSVP by 8/21!!)

8/30/09 - Nakayoshi Quarterly Meeting

Save these dates! Upcoming events in September
9/6/09 - Oakland A's Japanese Heritage Day (RSVP by 8/20!!)

9/27/09 - Tabemasho! Nakayoshi Sushi-making Class

Friday, August 21: Sunday, August 23: Lake Tahoe Camping Trip
Sign-ups for this event have closed. Thank you to those who signed up for our first camping trip! We have a great weekend outdoors ahead of us!

What: Nakayoshi Tahoe Camping Trip
Date: Friday, August 21, 2009 - Sunday, August 23, 2009
Location: South Lake Tahoe, CA
View more information on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=30593261168&ref=ts#/event.php?eid=116797296833

Thursday, August 27: Hepatits B Awareness Dinner
Nakayoshi continues to support the San Francisco Hep B Free! campaign as we join the AsianWeek Foundation at the next Hepatitis B Awareness dinner at the South Sea Seafood Village. Eat a scrumptious 9 course meal and learn about how you can help stop Hepatitis B!

About Hep B: API's have the highest risk of hepatitis B of any ethnic group. San Francisco's API residents comprise 34% of the city's population and bear a disproportionate burden of liver cancer and undetected HBV infection. The city of San Francisco has the highest liver cancer rate in the nation. Learn how to protect family and friends from Hep B and liver cancer caused by Hep B! For more information about hepatitis B which disproportionately affects APIs, visit http://www.sfhepbfree.org/.

*MENU for 9 Course Chinese Banquet Dinner: Cream Corn Soup w/Chicken, Minced Chicken & Shrimp in Lettuce Cups, Peking Duck & Buns, Walnut Prawns, Black Mushrooms & Greens, Mapo Tofu w/Pork, Beef & Greens, Crispy Skin Chicken, Dessert

What: Hepatitis B Awareness Dinner (RSVP by 8/21!!)

When: Thursday, August 27, 2009
Where: South Sea Seafood Village, 1420 Irving St. San Francisco
Time: 6-7pm No Host Bar, 7-9pm Dinner

Price: $30; RSVP by Aug. 21
Contact: Tamiko Wong, twong@awfoundation.com, 415-321-5865.
RSVP on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=30593261168#/event.php?eid=133027988553

Sunday, August 30: Nakayoshi Quarterly Meeting
Here's a perfect chance to get caught up on everything happening in the next few months for Nakayoshi! We are actively seeking to expand our planning committees, so come on out if you'd like to see what's going on and how you can get involved! Please note that starting this month, our monthly meetings will now be held on a quarterly basis.


What: Nakayoshi Quarterly Meeting
When: Sunday, August 30, 2009
Where: JACL National Headquarters, 1765 Sutter Street, San Francisco, CA
Time: 1-4pm
RSVP on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=30593261168&ref=ts#/event.php?eid=118002121318

Sunday, September 6: Oakland A's Japanese Heritage Day (RSVP by Thursday 8/20!!)

Last-minute announcement for you East Bay baseball fans! Come join Nakayoshi at the Oakland A's game on Sunday, September 6, 1:00 PM @ Oakland Coliseum. Come watch Ichiro and Kenji Johjima of the Seattle Mariners and Kurt Suzuki of the Oakland A's! RSVP deadline for tickets is THIS THURSDAY, 8/20, so respond quickly if you want to go! Nakayoshi will be joining the Contra Costa and Diablo Valley JACL chapters for the game.

What: Oakland A's Japanese Heritage Day
When: Sunday, September 6, 2009
Where: McAffee Coliseum, 7000 Coliseum Way, Oakland, CA
Time: 1-5pmPrice: $10/ticket
RSVP at nakayoshi@ncwnp@gmail.com or on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=30593261168&ref=ts#/event.php?eid=276296405552

Sunday, September 27: Tabemasho! Nakayoshi Sushi-making Class
We'll be hosting our second Tabemasho! series Sushi-making class/fundraiser on Sunday, 9/27 at the JCCCNC in SF Japantown, taught by Nakayoshi's very own Graig and Sean Inaba! Proceeds will benefit both the JCCCNC and Nakayoshi, so look for more details on how you and your friends can sign up to learn how to roll your own sushi and support two great community organizations! More details to come! E-mail nakayoshi.ncwnp@gmail.com if you have questions or to reserve a spot.


See you at the next Nakayoshi event! Find out more at the Nakayoshi quarterly meeting this month!

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 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.

SF Hep B Free - An Unexpected Encounter

Our friends at AsianWeek Foundation are putting on another amazing event and if you're around you should definitely check it out.

VIVE presents a music showcase and benefit dinner hosted at Jillian's. Come join them for an evening of good food, good music, and good conversation all while contributing to the elimination of hepatitis b in the asian community via SF Hep B Free. Dress UP, but dress comfortably. With featured singer and songwriter Alice Tong and the talent of Odessa Chen, two incredible artists whose music will leave an impression on your mind and soul.

Tickets are $45 - which includes dinner *Group packages are available. For more information visit www.vivesf.com/vive-events/

When: Friday, August 21, 2009
Where: Jillian's @ The Metreon 101 4th Street, SF

Time: 6PM - 9PM

If you are unable to attend but would like to make a donation, please visit and donate online at www.SFHepBFree.org/donate

Fore more information on the SF Hep B Free campaign and how you can help, visit their website at http://www.sfhepbfree.org/

REEL NIKKEI STORIES community film screening

Saturday, August 15, 2009

3:00pm - 4:30pm

Issei Memorial Hall, JCCCNC

1840 Sutter Street, San Francisco, CA 94115

REEL NIKKEI STORIES Community Film Screening will showcase youth-made documentaries with focus on Japanese American family oral histories. The community film screening is the culmination of the year-long REEL NIKKEI STORIES project, a training program which empowers young people with the confidence, skills and resources to interview and video document their family stories before they are lost forever.

For more information contact Ali at AKagawa@jcccnc.org or 415-567-5505.

Learn Yosakoi Soran Dance!

Tuesday, August 18th, 2009

4:00pm

Issei Memorial Hall, JCCCNC

1840 Sutter Street, San Francisco CA 94115

FREE!

“Yosakoi Soran,” originated from a Japanese folk song “Yosakoi” of Kochi Prefecture combined with the famous Hokkaido folk song “Soran” into a choreographed team folk dance. With the Yosakoi clapper in one hand while chanting “Soran”, you have the two fundamental elements of this song from which you can create your own choreography for the dance. It started from the idea of a university student and soon became phenomenal for its urge for creativity and team effort. This year in June in Sapporo the 18th annual Yosakoi Soran Festival was held, and 33, 000 people and 316 teams including members of the Research Society participated in this growing event. This time leader Masao Nemoto, who developed the dance for educational purposes and helped it spread to classrooms all over Japan, will lead the workshop to introduce “Samurai” and other variations of the Yosakoi Soran.”

To sign up for the Workshop, please contact. Mr. Ken Maeshiro, JCCCNC at (415) 567-5505.
For inquiries about the workshop, please contact Mr. Tadashi Ota, Director, SF Office, Teacher’s Organization of Skill Sharing, at (408) 828-6505, or Japan Information Center, Consulate General of Japan, at (415) 777-3533 or japaninfo@cgjsf.org

Information taken from Japanese Consulate of Japan flyer.

A Portrait of Japanese Americans - Be involved in this nationwide study

The University of Maryland is doing a study of Japanese American's called A Portrait of Japanese Americans.

The study includes doing focus groups with representative members of the JACL (Nakayoshi is a program of the JACL). These focus groups will be held in various regions of the country.

The UM is in search of willing participants. A description of the focus groups is below along with the time frame needed.

1. Consent forms will be provided to all participants.

2. Each focus group should be from 6 to 8 people. 8 is preferred. These focus groups will last a maximum of 2 hours. Day or evening is okay.

3. In-depth interviews will be held with 3 people. These could be some of the same people in the focus group or different. This interviews will last for about one hour. It is a matter of getting somebody who is willing to do an in-depth interview. Diversity is desired here too.

4. The goal is to have "diversity" in these groups. Nisei, Shin-Nisei, Sansei, Yonsei, Gosei, both genders, bi-cultural (Hapa), gay, etc. are the kind of diversity we would like to have. At least one Nisei is essential. Also, different social backgrounds such as education,occupation, social status, relegion, etc. would be good. This is for both the focus groups and the in-depth interviews.

5. There will be audio records that the U. of Maryland staff will analyse and use for the report.

Three to four UM staff will do each focus group.

If you are interested in participating in this study, please email us at nakayoshi.ncwnp@gmail.com and we will submit your names for participation.

36th Annual Nihonmachi Street Festival - Volunteer with us!

Looking for something fun to do this weekend? Want to volunteer and do something that feels worth while? Want to see children laugh and have an amazing time as they play tons of fun games and activities?

If you've said "yes" to all the above, come out and volunteer this Sunday (Aug. 8th) with Nakayoshi as we volunteer at the 36th Annual Nihonmachi Street Festival in San Francisco's Japantown.

We'll be volunteering at Nihonmachi's Children's World section, helping children bounce around and play fun (cost affordable) games!

We're looking for amazing folks to come volunteer for the following shifts. Sign ups are going on until this Wednesday, August 5th. Email us at mailto:nakayoshi.ncwnp@gmail.com with your name, desired shift, and phone contact (for the day of).

The following shifts are available and we would greatly appreciate it if you signed up for any of the following 2 hour shifts:

8am-10am (Set-up)
10am-12noon
12noon to 2pm
2pm to 4pm
4pm-6pm (Clean-up)

Come out and have some fun as Nakayoshi volunteers for our 2nd time at this year's Nihonmachi Street Festival. We look forward to seeing you there this Sunday!