On Oct 14th, the Japanese Canadian community in Greater Vancouver lost a great person and community leader in Cy Saimoto. A Celebration of Life for Cy Saimoto was held on Saturday Oct 23rd at the Vancouver Buddhist Temple with several hundred in attendance. Cy was an extraordinary person who was completely dedicated to family, his employees, and his community. Cy—a founding member of the Vancouver Judo Club, active member of the Kiwanis Service Club (Kerrisdale) and active member of the Burnaby Chamber of Commerce—was a firm believer in celebrating Japanese cultural heritage. He also believed in improving the Vancouver Downtown Eastside (the old historic Japantown). This dedication was shown in Cy’s efforts and length of service with the Vancouver Buddhist Temple and the Vancouver Japanese Language School and Japanese Hall. He was instrumental in developing the community spirit behind the Japanese Language School’s new five-story wing in 2000. His work continued in promoting the Japanese Language School’s next capital project: renovating the 1928 Heritage Building by adding a full-time daycare. As a result of all this hard work, Cy received Japan’s Order of the Rising Sun from the Emperor in November 2009. This decoration was awarded in recognition of his lifelong volunteerism in the Japanese Canadian community. The GVJCCA offers condolences and deepest sympathy to his family, who themselves are all hard workers in the JC community.
If you get chance, check out the 7th Annual Downtown Eastside Heart of the City Festival, which runs from Oct 27 – Nov 7. This year, there will be over 80 events at various venues throughout the Vancouver Downtown Eastside. The Heart of the City Festival focuses on the diverse communities of the Vancouver Downtown Eastside where a large Japanese Canadian community once thrived. It features cultural celebrations, forums, workshops, history talks and walks, and many outdoor festivities. This year’s theme is: “Downtown Eastside—Heart and Home”. For an up-to-date schedule visit www.heartofthecityfestival.com.
On November 19th at Nikkei Place from 6:30-8PM, the GVJCCA will be holding its Volunteer Appreciation Night to thank its many volunteers, donors, and advertisers. Since we are so reliant on our many volunteers for all our activities including the Powell Street Festival BBQ, Golf Tournament, Human Rights and Nihongo Committee workshops, and of course our dedicated Bulltin/Geppo mailout group, we annually present this special night for them. We hope that you can attend and will enjoy seeing many friends from events throughout the year. If you are planning to attend, please let us know by either emailing gvjcca@shaw.ca or calling 604.777.5222. Hope to see you there!
November 11 is Remembrance Day and many organizations will be participating in the Remembrance Day Service at the Japanese Canadian War Memorial Cenotaph in Stanley Park. The Service will be at 10 AM and I hope that everyone will attend and pay respect to the Japanese Canadians who fought for Canada during the various Wars. Although our community endured many hardships during WWII, there were many who did enlist to fight for our democratic rights, freedoms, and world peace. A reception will follow the service.
Just a reminder: our holiday season is coming up and it is sometimes difficult to remember about renewing your annual membership to the GVJCCA, but if you could submit the renewal this would be greatly appreciated. Keeping your membership to the GVJCCA up-to-date greatly assists us in maintaining our database in an efficient way and supports the publishing of The Bulletin.
Thanks, Ron Nishimura
President, GVJCCA
