2010 ASCEND West Coast Conference

Nakayoshi is a Supporting Organization of the Ascend leadership conference and gala dinner, “Inspiring across Generations” on May 7-8, 2010. Our role as a Supporting Organization entitles you to a $50 discount to the event!

We encourage you to join us for this unique networking and career building program. Information about the conference is below.

ASCEND Northern California, in cooperation with chapters in Los Angeles and Seattle, presents its 4th annual leadership conference and gala, “Inspiring Across Generations.”

The 2010 conference theme is “Reinventing for the Long Term.” The business world is undergoing rapid change, propelling and disrupting new careers and industries. How do you stay relevant and flexible? What skills enable you to anticipate risk, uncertainty, and change? Who can help guide your transformation? A top-tier panel of speakers and mentors will share tactics and strategies on how to successfully navigate these turbulent times and build lasting relationships.

The conference consists of a day-and-a-half of leadership and mentorship workshops with panel discussions, mentorship circles, keynote speeches, and networking. We include opportunities for both emerging and seasoned leaders to engage with our community partners and corporate sponsors and to meet our members and conference attendees. The conference ends with a gala dinner and entertainment. We expect another sell-out with 600 attendees. Workshops and panels have limited space, so register early! Price increases May 4, 2010.

Dates & Times: May 7, 2010; 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
May 8, 2010; 7:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Location: Intercontinental Hotel
888 Howard Street
San Francisco, CA 94103

Conference website: http://www.ascendwestconf.com/

Registration: http://ascendwestcoastconference2010.eventbrite.com/

Facebook
www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=21032791579

Twitter
http://twitter.com/AscendLeader

LinkedIn
www.linkedin.com/groups?about=&gid=95571

About ASCEND:

Ascend, a non-profit organization, aims to be the premier professional association for enhancing the presence and influence of Pan-Asian business leaders.

For more information, please visit their website: http://www.ascendleadership.org/.

Nakayoshi's Social Event - SF Giant's JA Heritage Tickets on Sale Now!!

Make sure to join us on May 14th for the SF Giant's Japanese American Heritage Night, tickets on sale NOW!

Call (415) 972-2298 or purchase online at www.sfgiants.com/specialevents and mention that you're with NAKAYOSHI YOUNG PROFESSIONALS!

Nakayoshi @ SF Giant's Japanese American Heritage Night - Buy your tickets NOW!

Nakayoshi is helping the SF Giants for the 2nd time in the row with their 1st of JA Heritage Nights in 2010. Make sure you tell them you're with Nakayoshi when you purchase your tickets! Giants vs. Houston Astros!

*NOTE* Seating may not all be in same section

Japanese culture has always resonated strongly with both the city of San Francisco and the sport of baseball, so what better way to celebrate than at a Giants game?

The Japanese Heritage Night sake tasting festival returns for year two, with a brand new piece for your Giants' sake set collection: a Giants-themed individual sake glass and masu. This special-edition item is included in the price of your ticket, along with entrance to the pre-game festival with complimentary tastes, and a seat in the special Japanese Heritage section at the game.

Cultural performers will entertain fans at the festival and on the field pre-game, and ticket proceeds will benefit local Japanese charities. The sake-tasting festival ends when the game starts, so get there early!

TICKET INFORMATION:
$20.00 Tickets are located in upper deck between 1st and 3rd base
$25.00 Tickets are located in lower box corner in Section 131-135

Please contact nakayoshi.ncwnp@gmail.com if you are interested in purchasing tickets or call 415.972.2254. Say you're with Nakayoshi!!

To contact Giants for ticetking questions please call 415-972-2298 or send an email to specialevents@sfgiants.com

Hope to see you all there! Get your tickets early, Sake glass and masu will sell out quickly! Last year we completely sold out!

Photo taken in 2009 - Nakayoshi @ SF Giants Japanese Heritage Night

Press Release: Hyphen's Food for Thought

The nation’s premier Asian American magazine launches first food section in “Inside/Out Issue”

SAN FRANCISCO (April 15th, 2010) — Hyphen celebrates its first issue of 2010 by debuting a new section dedicated to inspiring and educating readers on all aspects of food. The recent “Inside/Out Issue,” released on newsstands April 15, follows one woman’s boundless dedication to creating better conditions for restaurant workers, breaks down the science behind the wok and updates a traditional jung recipe with an African American spin.

“Food is a celebration of heritage, but it’s also much more than that,” says Food Editor Nina Kahori Fallenbaum. “Hyphen reveals what’s happening behind the scenes, serving up stories from who’s growing, preparing and distributing the food.”

Fallenbaum, who holds a master’s degree in Food Policy, will utilize her passion for discovery to investigate the political and social issues connected to food and its unique relationship with Asian Americans. She didn’t become Hyphen’s first food editor by chance—Fallenbaum, a Japanese American San Francisco Bay Area native, lived in Japan for four years, where she worked for a millet entrepreneur and researched the environmental effects of the modern food industry. She’s contributed to Civil Eats, Nikkei Heritage, and Nichi Bei Times, and is a former editor for the Asian Development Bank Institute and the Sloth Club Japan (a green business publisher).

“We’ve found that our Asian American audience is craving more powerful stories to digest,” says Publisher Lisa Lee. “Now, in our 20th issue, we’re proving that Hyphen is evolving with its readers to reflect how Asian American interests are shaping politics and popular culture.”

Hyphen readers have always been interested in food, but as Editor in Chief Harry Mok noted in a recent blog post, “The perceived exoticness of Asian food and the explosion of fusion cuisine (mean that) many of the stereotypes about Asian Americans come from food. Our founding editor proclaimed Hyphen would never cover food in a way that doesn’t uphold Hyphen’s ideals.” Indeed, Hyphen’s inaugural food section shows that the world of Asian American food is diverse and opinionated. Contributors include scientists Fumei Lam and Jamie Bresson, analyzing the science behind the everyday wok, and restaurant worker organizer Bonnie Kwon explaining why she sees eating out as a political act. The illustrated jung recipe is an African-Asian creative mashup by cookbook author Bryant Terry and artist Jidan Koon.

The stories come from the heart, delving into deep issues that circulate within the agriculture and restaurant industries, which impacts all Americans. Hyphen’s take on food satisfies the curious reader, while continuing to spark interest and transform common perceptions, more often misperceptions, of the culinary aspects of Asian American cultures.

About Hyphen
Hyphen is a fiscally sponsored project of Independent Arts & Media, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. It is an Asian American publication that's distributed nationally and internationally. Based in San Francisco, Hyphen was created as a response to a void of media for young Asian Americans. Covering arts, culture and politics in a fresh and irreverent voice, Hyphen is a media must for savvy Asian Americans. With award-winning design and content, Hyphen is recognized nationwide as an authority on contemporary Asian American identity. Since its inception, Hyphen has been touted in print, online and on camera. Hyphen has been featured or quoted in media outlets such as Yahoo, ESPN, San Francisco Chronicle, Boston Globe, Houston Chronicle, Utne, Flavorpill, Gothamist and Racialicious.com. www.hyphenmagazine.com

Volunteers Needed! Nakayoshi @ 2010 Kodomo No Hi Festival

Nakayoshi is volunteering for its 2nd year at the JCCCNC's Kristi Yamaguchi's Kodomo No Hi Children's Festival. We're at it again and making delicious spam musubi all day long to help fundraise for both Nakayoshi and JCCCNC's youth programs.

We're looking for volunteers to help make, package and sell spam musubi at this year's festival. So please sign up for any of the folloing shifts starting at 9am. If you're interested in helping us make this year's Children's Festival a hit, please contact us at nakayoshi.ncwnp@gmail.com to sign up and volunteer with us!

Volunteer Shifts

9:00am-12:00pm Shift - Prepping and making rice, making spam musubi

12:00pm - 3:00pm Shift - Making spam musubi and musubi sellers

3:00 - 4:30pm shift - Making spam musubi & musubi sellers & Clean

It's a great way to connect with your community, see a bunch of adorable kids come out with their families, and have some fun with Nakayoshi members as you make delicious spam musubi!

Look forward to see you there!

Press Release - Nihonmachi Little Friends Celebrates 35th Anniversary

SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- Nihonmachi Little Friends (NLF), a bilingual and multicultural childcare organization in San Francisco’s Japantown, recently held a “Spring Social” for its supporters to kick off the agency’s 35th anniversary celebration. The event was a part of the year-long celebration and took place at Yoshi’s Jazz Club in San Francisco’s Fillmore District.

NLF recently announced that it met its capital campaign goal of $2.2 million to fund the purchase and renovation of the historic 1830 Sutter Street building. “NLF is ecstatic to celebrate these important milestones with friends and supporters of our community,” said Cathy Inamasu, Executive Director of NLF. Formally known as the Japanese YWCA, the building was entrusted to NLF as part of the settlement of a community-supported lawsuit to save the building.

NLF is now embarking on a $300,000 Building Preservation Fund to ensure the continued upkeep of the Sutter Street facility for use by future generations, and to honor the legacy of the Issei women who built it. “With the help of our community friends and supporters, we are confident that we can accomplish this goal,” said Inamasu.

During the reception, NLF’s Board Chair, Adrienne Shiozaki Woo, raised a toast in honor of Hatsuro “Hats” Aizawa and his wife Amey, who recently announced that one-third of a newly formed Aizawa Family Trust will go towards NLF. The evening ended with an electrifying performance by Jake Shimabukuro on ukulele, with a repertoire that incorporated elements of jazz, blues, funk, classical, bluegrass, folk, flamenco, and rock.

Upcoming events to celebrate NLF’s 35th anniversary will include an unveiling/dedication ceremony of the Tateuchi Auditorium to be held in November. The event will feature an original performance by Brenda Wong Aoki, who is acclaimed as one of America’s foremost solo performing artists. Plans are also underway for a Family Day in December, which will include mochi-pounding, singing by NLF children, and a performance by Eth-Noh-Tec, featuring award-winning storytellers Robert Kikuchi and Nancy Wong.

For more information about NLF or to contribute to the Building Preservation Fund, visit NLF’s website at www.nlfchildcare.org or call (415) 922-8898. ### Nihonmachi Little Friends (NLF) is a community-based, Japanese, bilingual and multicultural childcare organization committed to providing quality and affordable childcare services.

Cathy Inamasu, Executive Director
Nihonmachi Little Friends
(415) 922-8898
nlfchildcare@yahoo.com

Nakayoshi Tea Tasting this Friday 4/23

Nakayoshi Tea Tasting!

When: Friday, April 23
Where: Samovar Tea Lounge at Yerba Buena Gardens (730 Howard Street)
Cost: $10 for tea tasting, plus additional for dinner
Time: 6pm

Tea is hot! Find out why at the Nakayoshi Tea Tasting this Friday, April 23. Nakayoshi member Tiffany P will be guiding you through a tour of tea's amazing flavors, from oceanic Japanese Senchas, to floral Taiwanese Oolongs, to earthy Chinese Puerh teas.

Don't know what any of those are? You will after you at attend this tea tasting and dinner event at the hip Samovar Tea Lounge in the San Francisco Yerba Buena Gardens.

Click here to RSVP for this event: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/event.php?eid=109415302425860&ref=ts