Team Sakura Sisters participated in the 2008 AIDS Walk San Francisco. In the foggy Golden Gate Park, we completed the 6 mile (10 km) walk to help raise funds for AIDS patients through the AIDS Foundation. Thank you to all of our AIDS Walk sponsors!
Team Sakura Sisters Total Raised: $1,207.00
Summer means Obon Season! We had a wonderful time dancing Odori at the Sacramento Obon, one of many local bazaars we visited in Northern California. Special thanks to Midori and family for hosting us at their home!
Good food, island music and entertainment, and warm weather! We had a fun and relaxing afternoon volunteering at the JCYC Island Jam children’s booths.
We were very honored to represent the Northern California Japanese American community at the Greater Seattle Japanese Community Queen Scholarship event in Seattle, Washington. There we joined with our sister city courts from Honolulu, Los Angeles and Seattle to celebrate our Japanese heritage. The Seattle Hospitality Committee were very generous to host us and tour us around the city. All of the Courts attended the Greater Seattle Japanese Community Queen Scholarship Program Coronation, where the 2007 Court said their good-byes and the new 2008 Court members were crowned. We enjoyed Seattle very much and are excited to see everyone again at Nisei Week in Los Angeles!
We were invited to the 25th anniversary celebration of KIMOCHI, Inc., a nonprofit organization that provides culturally sensitive care for seniors primarily serving the Japanese American community. We were very happy to volunteer at the event assiting with the raffle to raise money for the programs and services that Kimochi, Inc. provides. We were especially happy to see the Consul General Yasumasa Nagamine and his wife, Mrs. Nagamine along with Mr. Hata from JAL. It was also exciting for us to meet Ross Mirkarimi, the Supervisor for District 7 which includes Japantown, and the Masters of Ceremonies Jon Sasaki, a Bay Area News Reporter. For more information on KIMOCHI, Inc. please visit
The Asian Heritage Street Celebration is an important event for the Asian American community to share our diverse cultures while celebrating our common heritage. It is a festival but more than that, it is a forum for us to express issues that concern the Asian American community. This year the AsianWeek Foundation chose San Francisco’s Japantown to host the event and we were very happy to represent the Northern California Japanese American community in welcoming all at the Asian Heritage Month celebration, event kick-off, and the street fair.
As the first official participatory event, we, the 2008 NCCBQP Court, volunteered at the Arts & Crafts booth of the Kodomo No Hi (Children’s Day) event in Japantown. Children had the opportunity to participate in a drawing and essay contest to express friendship and the harmonious relationship between San Francisco and the sister city of Osaka. The artwork submitted by children was placed into a robot time capsule to be reopened on the San Francisco-Osaka Sister City Friendship 100th Anniversary in 2057. We also participated in dances and children’s activities on stage in front of the Peace Pagoda in the Peace Plaza and had a fun time despite Kristi’s absence.
We, the 2008 NCCBQP Court, threw our very own first event together! To thank the Queen Committee’s continuous hard work in making everything possible, we held a Kansha Luncheon to show our deepest appreciation.
