Ganbare Japan! raises $208,000 for Earthquake Relief

Jon Kimura Parker with members of Taiko for Tohoku at Ganbare Japan! concert. Photo: BC-JERF • Japan Love / Koichi Saito

Jon Kimura Parker with members of Taiko for Tohoku at Ganbare Japan! concert. Photo: BC-JERF • Japan Love / Koichi Saito

May 11, 2011—two months after the earthquake/tsunami hit the Tohoku region of Japan.
The Ganbare Japan! benefit concert, held Tuesday April 19th at Vancouver’s Queen Elizabeth Theatre, was a deeply moving and financially successful event supported by many hundreds of volunteers including all the performers, stage/production managers, organizers and committee members, plus the many people throughout the Lower Mainland who folded over 16,000 origami cranes for the concert’s finale. The venue fee for the Queen Elizabeth Theatre was donated by the City of Vancouver, the first time this has happened in its 51-year history.

With everyone’s help, we were able to generate $259,434.00 in ticket sales, merchandise sales, sponsorship, and cash and in-kind donations.

As a result of this overwhelming generosity, 100% of the money from the sale of concert tickets was donated to the Japan Red Cross with a cheque presentation of $85,534.00 to the Consul General of Japan on Friday, May 6th. The remainder, requiring tax receipts, after expenses and in-kind donations, goes to the Canadian Red Cross for Japan earthquake relief. This amount is $122,027.72.
On behalf of Ganbare Japan! concert organizers and the BC Japan Earthquake Relief Fund (BC-JERF), we wish to express a BIG thank you to all the volunteers, all the sponsors, the Nikkei community, and the people of Greater Vancouver who generously raised funds and care for the people of northern Japan through Ganbare Japan!

Linda Ohama, coordinator
Ganbare Japan! benefit concert
member of BC JERF

MORE FACTS AND FIGURES
Ganbare Japan! included more than 167 performers who all volunteered their talents and time. These included Erin Wall, David Pomeroy and Kinza Tyrrell from Vancouver Opera, dancers and singers from the Squamish Nation, Takeo Yamashiro on shakuhachi, butoh dancer Jay Hirabayashi, most of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Jon Kimura Parker, bands like 54-40, Doug and the Slugs and the Sojourners, and musicians Mae Moore, Jim Byrnes, Simon Kendall, Paul Pigat, Bill and Saffron Henderson. The finale featured the amazing Taiko for Tohoku, an unprecedented collaboration by almost sixty members of the Vancouver taiko community. Emcees for the evening were local celebrities Margaret Gallagher and Tetsuro Shigematsu.

Ganbare Japan! had an incredible volunteer team of four professional stage and production managers. Their month of planning meetings and preparations ensured that the rehearsals and concert ran seamlessly. Ganbare Japan! also brought together a dozen writers from across Canada, each expressing their sorrow and hope with original writing—their words forming a very special part of the 40-page program book.
In advance of the concert, Ganbare Japan! put out a call out for origami cranes. For over a month, hundreds of people throughout the Lower Mainland responded and folded over 16,000 origami paper cranes. These colourful birds floated down on the audience and stage as part of our grand finale, a message of hope to the people of Tohoku.

Ganbare Japan! came together with help of over 70 people on the various committees—from the BC-JERF Nikkei community executive to media and sponsorship, production to hospitality, and to the special think-tanks made up of Vancouver entertainment professionals offering their advice. Ganbare Japan! was supported by over 50 businesses and sponsors who generously donated funds or in-kind services to produce this benefit concert, plus another 27 businesses who took out ads in the program. With everyone’s help, Ganbare Japan! raised well over $200,000 to help support the people of Tohoku.

Arigato gozaimasu!


Ganbare Japan! Volunteers & Sponsors

Concert Coordinator Linda Ohama
Assistant Mayumi Ueno

Organizing Committee
BC-JERF executive committee:
Julia Aoki • Asuka Endo • Yoriko Gillard • Naoto Horita • David Iwaasa • Fumio Kanno • Joji Kumagai • Greg Masuda • Kozue Matsumoto • Kazuya Miyohara • Kazumi Nozawa • Linda Ohama • Augustina Santoso • Kathy Shimizu • Lily Shinde • Grace Eiko Thomson • Bryan Tsuyuki Tomlinson
and Tonari Gumi staff

Program Book and Poster Design
John Endo Greenaway

Program and Performers Committee
Simon Kendall (coordinator) • Linda Tanaka • Linda Ohama

Sponsorship Program Committee
Emiko Ando (coordinator) • Cathy Makihara

Taiko for Tohoku Committee
Kayo Komori Homma (coordinator) • Shinobu Homma • Eileen Kage • John Endo Greenaway

Media Committee
Daniel Budgell (coordinator) • David Davies • Greg Masuda • Sayaka Iwanaka • Assisted by
Katharine Kitts • Sara Sands • Yuko Horn

Accounting and Legal Committee
Emiko Ando (legal) • Dennis Shikaze (chartered accountant) • Mayumi Takasaki (accounting)

Production Team
(Linda’s great baseball team) Tee Crane • Byron Lonneberg • David (DK) Kerr • David Humphrey
Miles Muir (for the QET)

Hospitality Committee
Jutta Simmons (coordinator) • Adrianne Smith (backstage hospitality provided by Fred Yada)
Volunteer coordinator
Kozue Matsumoto

Ganbare Japan! T-shirt Design
Anthony Seto • John Endo Greenaway

Thank you to our ‘Think Tank’ volunteers during pre-production and production

Thank you to our “Ganbare Japan!” volunteers & friends
Rae Ackerman • Fatima Amarashi • Shag & Mark Ando • Betty Au, Daiso Canada • Bob Baker, Squamish Nation • Nancy Bleck, Squamish Nation • Jamie Brown & Baco Ohama • Janice Brown
Yvan Burkhalter • Kathy Campbell • The Canadian Embassy, Tokyo • Beth Carter • Megumi Chan • Richard Chaping • Caitlin Ohama-Darcus • Jonathan Masataka Endo • Keith Fedoruk • Svetlana & Raymond Fouks • Alan Franey • Patrick Gallagher • Asato Goto, Tokyo • John Greenway’s iphone • David Grisham • Hedley – Darren Gilmour • Max Hodges, Tokyo • Shigeru Hoshikawa • Kazumi Howell • Richard Howland • Neil Humphrey & Emi Ito • Norm Ibuki • Nagisa Inoue • Anne Jew • Sherri Kajiwara • Gwen Kallio • Yoshi Karasawa • Sachiko Katz • John Kearns • Peter Kendall • Abby & Martin Kobayakawa • Rudy Kovanic csc & Gillian Darling Kovanic • Maureen Levitt • Adrian Levy & Elizabeth Schatz • Kira Levy • Art Makenzie & Anne Rosenberg • Jeff Matsuda • Tomoka Matsumura • Kim McLean & Mark Sykes • Kris McLean & Majid Rohani • David Mendel, England • Mari Miyasaki • Allen Moy • Miles Muir • Akira Nagai • Nikkei Place • Dan Nomura • Bryan Nykon • Natsuko Ohama • Tona Walt Ohama • Hiroshi Okamura • Osamu Otani • Keiko Parker • Liz Parker • Linda Poole • Rockspace • Don Rosenbloom • Koichi Saito • Michiko Sakata • Sandra Semchuk • Alexis & Anthony Seto • Marcia Shimizu • David Suzuki • Teresa Tabo • Linda Tanaka • Coastal Jazz • Werner Dieter Thomas • Craig Tomlinson & Carol Tsuyuki • Tonari Gumi Japanese Community Volunteers  Association • Utako Ueki • Yasuhiro Ueno • Georgia & Jeff Vallis • Maria Weisgarber • Chief Bill Williams • Squamish Nation • Fred Yada • Takeo Yamashiro • Perry the Posterman

Everyone in the Lower Mainland who folded origami cranes.

The amazing writers who contributed their poignant words to the program guide.

Special sponsorship of the Ganbare Japan! concert has helped ensure that 100% of the proceeds go to benefit the Japanese relief effort. Thank you to the sponsors for their generous support!

Matsu Level $7,500+
Bing Thom & Associates Foundation • Ticketmaster • City of Vancouver • Vancouver Civic Theatres • Pattison Outdoor Advertising • Canadian Fishing Company • Mr. Ken Shinozaki • Coastal Peoples Fine Arts Gallery

Take Level $5,000+
Tom Lee Music • Toshime & Bill Sembo

Ume Level $2,500+
Corix Group of Companies • Fujiya Japanese Foods • Davis and Co. • Hi Genki • Michael & Ruth Coles • Robert & Jane Nimi • Nikkei Seniors Health Care & Housing Society

Event Sponsor $1,000+
Fred Yada • Mitsubishi Canada Ltd. • Non Fiction Design

Other Sponsor $500+
VanCity • Children’s Hospital Aid Society • Tracey McVicar • Georgia Straight

Supported by
Vancouver International Film Festival • Coastal Jazz Vancouver Folk Music Festival • Powell Street Festival • Vancouver Symphony Orchestra Vancouver Opera • Kibune Sushi • Tojo’s Restaurant  • Organicslives Enterprises Inc. •  Time Frame Gallery • International Web Express • Finch’s Tea & Coffee House • The Cambie • Malone’s Corporation • Yagger’s Bistro Ltd. • Da Gino • Sikora’s Classical Records • East Van Graphics Anne Jew • Yaletown Brewing Co. • Simon’s Bike Shop • Smiiley’s • Arturo’s Mexico To Go

Media Sponsors
Bulletin/Geppo • Coco Magazine • Fraser Journal • Loopp/Klip • Nikka Times • Oops Magazine • Vancouver Keizai Shinbun • Vancouver Shinpo