Nakayoshi Monthly Update – January 2009

Happy New Year everyone! We hope you have a lot to look forward to in 2009 – Nakayoshi certainly has a lot in the works for the upcoming year! Since our first Meet & Greet BBQ event in June until now, we really appreciate everyone who has come to our events, signed up on our Facebook group/e-mail list, and have helped contribute to build Nakayoshi up to what we are today. We are incredibly excited to announce that the NCWNP District of the JACL has generously provided Nakayoshi with a greatly expanded budget in 2009 for increasing our outreach efforts and putting on even more great events for our members. Besides our monthly social events and community volunteering opportunities, we’ll also be putting together some career development and networking-focused events in the coming year. We’ll continue to do our best in 2009 to provide you with opportunities to get involved, connect with the community as well as meet people and have fun at the same time!

This month we’ll be kicking off 2009 by volunteering at the New Years festivities in Japantown. We’re also going ice skating in downtown San Francisco later this month for our January social event. Be sure to mark your calendars in February for the Day of Remembrance community-wide event in memorial of the Japanese American internment during WWII, as well as our upcoming weekend ski/snowboard trip!

Here’s to the new year! Hope we’ll be seeing a lot of you around in the months to come!

In this update (new events in bold):
1/10/09 – Oshogatsu Festival Volunteering

1/17/09 – Nighttime Ice Skating Social
1/25/09 – January Monthly Meeting
1/29-30/09 – Japan Dance Now at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts

2/27/09-3/1/09 – Weekend Ski/Snowboarding Trip

Saturday, January 10th, 2009: Oshogatsu Festival Volunteering

Join Nakayoshi as we volunteer with API Legal Outreach, JCYC and the San Francisco JACL at the Oshogatsu Festival at the JCCCNC. This year’s festival activities include arts & crafts for children, a children’s art contest, traditional mochitsuki (New Year rice pounding), food, cultural performances (including odori, kendo and taiko) and much more! Bring a t-shirt and have it screen printed with the Oshogatsu logo. Volunteers are needed for setup, assistance at crafts tables for children and for cleanup. Setup begins at 9am, the event runs from 11am-3pm, with cleanup after. Please e-mail us at nakayoshi.ncwnp@gmail.com and let us know ASAP if you can help out, even if it’s only for an hour or two!

When: Saturday, January 10th, 2009
Time: 9:00 am to 4:00 pm, volunteer shifts available throughout the event
Location: Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California (JCCCNC), 1840 Sutter Street, San Francisco, CA

Saturday, January 17th, 2009: Nighttime Ice Skating Social

This month’s social event will be nighttime ice skating in the city! Meet up with the rest of your Nakayoshi buddies for a fun night on the ice and perhaps more afterward. Please note there has been a change in the venue since we posted the event in last month’s update. We will be meeting at the Yerba Buena Ice Skating Center in downtown San Francisco, across from the Metreon. For more details on the ice rink, click here. RSVP at nakayoshi.ncwnp@gmail.com.

When: Saturday, January 17th, 2009
Time: 9:00 – 11:00pm
Location: Yerba Buena Ice Skating Center, 750 Folsom Street, San Francisco, CA
Price: $9.25/person (includes admission and skate rentals)

Sunday, January 25th, 2009: January Monthly Meeting

Looking for an easy way to get involved with Nakayoshi and the community? Want to develop your leadership and organizational skills? Check out our monthly meetings, on the last Sundays of every month from 1-4pm at the JACL National Headquarters in San Francisco Japantown. New faces are always welcome!

When: Sunday, January 25th, 2009
Time: 1:00 – 4:00 pm
Location: JACL National Headquarters, 1765 Sutter Street, San Francisco, CA

Thursday-Friday, January 29-30, 2009: Japan Dance Now at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts

YBCA invites Nakayoshi Young Professionals to see Japan Dance Now – a triple bill of Japan’s hottest new dance artists – with a special 2-for- 1 ticket offer on Thurs, Jan 29 and Fri, Jan 30 at 8 pm. (Individual tickets are $30 Regular). The artists in Japan Dance Now —Nibroll, BABY-Q and Sennichimae Blue Sky Dance Club—are inspired by technology, pop culture, visual art and fashion design. Don’t miss this rare U.S. appearance of electric experimental dance by Japan’s newest generation of dance artists!

To purchase your tickets call 415.978.2787 or stop by the YBCA Box Office at 701 Mission Street and mention the Nakayoshi Young Professionals discount code: 4337.

You may also purchase 2-for-1 tickets online:

1. Go to ybca.org/tickets/account/

2. Log in or register, and enter the promo code 4337 (To receive the discount you must enter the promo code when logging in)

3. Select the Thurs, Jan 29 or Fri, Jan 30 performance of Japan Dance Now from the calendar of events

Upcoming Events in February
Save these dates! More February events and details coming soon!

2/27/09-3/1/09 – Weekend Ski/Snowboarding Trip: For those of you who ski or snowboard, Nakayoshi will be heading up to Tahoe and renting a cabin and hitting the slopes on the last weekend of February. Be sure to e-mail us at nakayoshi.ncwnp@gmail.com to reserve a spot for you and your friends!

All events are free and open to anyone unless otherwise noted. Feel free to forward this message along to your friends or anyone interested. Not on the Nakayoshi e-mail list? Click here to subscribe. Have questions? Want to sign up or RSVP for an event? E-mail Nakayoshi at: nakayoshi.ncwnp@gmail.com. For additional information and updates, be sure to check the Nakayoshi blog at http://www.nakayoshi-jacl.blogspot.com/ or find us on Facebook! Nakayoshi is a program sponsored by the Northern California Western Nevada Pacific District of the Japanese American Citizens League.