President’s Message

Hi everyone!

Gee, hasn’t the weather been fantastic! We are so lucky to live on the west coast, able to wake up every day and enjoy the wonderful mountains with the Pacific Ocean close by. During our hot spell I hope all our seniors are staying cool and drinking lots of water so as not to get too dehydrated. Also it is important to wear a hat when in the direct sunlight.

The Powell Street Festival will be taking place on August 2 and 3 and the GVJCCA will be running its regular salmon BBQ. With the shortage of salmon, it seems more difficult each year to provide the same wonderful meal we are used to, but we are trying. This year will be the 32nd Anniversary of the Powell Street Festival, and event that brings together Nikkei organizations, providing entertainment and food for all. At this year’s PSF, the inaugural Zero Waste Challenge gets underway. Just as we all try to reduce our environmental impact by recycling, PSF will be implementing a composting and recycling plan, which means that all food utensils and dishes sold on site will be made of compostable materials. PSF encourages all Festival attendees to help in the fight to reduce environmental impact by recycling and composting as much as we can at this year’s Festival.

The Bulletin will again serve as the PSF Program Guide and the GVJCCA would like to thank ahead of time the many volunteers and donors/sponsors who make the GVJCCA BBQ and the Bulletin PSF Program Guide a success.

On Wednesday August 6, the GVJCCA will be sponsoring an Obon Service and Odori at Nikkei Place from 2 – 5:30pm with Reverend Aoki from the Vancouver Buddhist Temple presiding over the service. We hope that you can be there.

I would like to remind you that on September 19-21, 2008, a national celebration will be held to mark the 20th Anniversary of the Redress Settlement. The Vancouver celebration will take place at two major venues: the Vancouver Japanese Language School & Japanese Hall, which was closed during the war years and reopened in 1952; and the National Nikkei Museum & Heritage Centre, which opened in September, 2000. The beautiful Nikkei Place complex also encompasses Nikkei Home and New Sakura-so. The buildings were supported by the National Association of Japanese Canadians Redress Foundation, which was established in 1989. In celebrating this landmark victory, we acknowledge those who worked hard to achieve Redress, including those who have already left us but whom we should never forget. So we encourage you to register. The best way to register is online. Go to the www.najc.ca website, click on the 20th Anniversary link and sign up. There will be a wide array of programs and activities and it will give you an opportunity to reminisce with friends, meet people from other communities who have experienced redress, and perhaps connect with those who played an integral part in our Redress process.

Also, this is to let you know that the GVJCCA will be having a fundraising dance on November 1 at Nikkei Place. On that date, you will have opportunity to dance to some great music, win prizes, enjoy the company of many friends and also meet new ones. So keep connected and stayed tuned.

Well I hope you all stay cool and healthy for the next few weeks and hopefully we will see you at the Powell Street Festival.

Thanks
Ron Nishimura, President GVJCCA