43rd Annual Manzanar Pilgrimage, 2012 Manzanar At Dusk Program To Be Held On April 28, 2012

January 22, 2012 1 Comment

A portion of the crowd attending the 42nd Annual Manzanar Pilgrimage
on April 30, 2011, at the Manzanar National Historic Site.
The cemetery monument is featured in the background.
Photo: Gann Matsuda

LOS ANGELES — The 43rd Annual Manzanar Pilgrimage, sponsored by the Los Angeles-based Manzanar Committee, is scheduled for 12:00 PM PDT on Saturday, April 28, 2012, at the Manzanar National Historic Site, located on US Highway 395 in California’s Owens Valley, between the towns of Lone Pine and Independence, approximately 230 miles north of Los Angeles.

Each year, hundreds of students, teachers, community members, clergy and former incarcerees attend the Pilgrimage. Planning is underway for the afternoon event, as well as for the Manzanar At Dusk program, scheduled from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM that same evening at the Lone Pine High School gymnasium, located at 538 South Main Street (US Highway 395), in Lone Pine, nine miles south of the Manzanar National Historic Site, across the street from McDonald’s. Read more of this post

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42nd Annual Manzanar Pilgrimage: Everyone Has A Story To Tell, But Not Everyone Has A Chance To Tell Their Story

July 24, 2011 11 Comments

Editor’s Note: After the 41st Annual Manzanar Pilgrimage, UCLA undergraduate Jaymie Takeshita reflected on her experiences at her first Manzanar Pilgrimage and Manzanar At Dusk program in a piece that has received rave reviews from readers, 41st Annual Manzanar Pilgrimage: A Letter To Obaa-chan. Takeshita’s involvement last year inspired her to become more deeply involved in this year’s events, and, once again, she shared her thoughts about her experiences with us.

by Jaymie Takeshita

Jaymie Takeshita
Photo: Gann Matsuda

I still cannot explain why I was so nervous as I waited for my great-aunt to pick up the phone about five days before the 42nd Annual Manzanar Pilgrimage on April 30, 2011. Maybe it was because I wasn’t sure what I wanted to ask. Maybe it was because I wasn’t sure if she’d be willing to talk. Or maybe it was because I wasn’t sure if she would like my surprise. Her cheerful voice answered the phone with a friendly, “hello?”

“Auntie Pat, this is Jaymie,” I said, trying to cover my nerves with an equally friendly voice.

“Jaymie!” she said, excitedly, “It’s so wonderful to hear your voice.” Read more of this post

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UCLA Kyodo Taiko To Perform At 42nd Annual Manzanar Pilgrimage

April 25, 2011 3 Comments

CULTURAL: UCLA Nikkei Student Union Odori group to lead traditional Ondo dancing

UCLA Kyodo Taiko at the 41st Annual Manzanar Pilgrimage
on April 24, 2010.
Photo: Gann Matsuda

LOS ANGELES — UCLA Kyodo Taiko will perform at the 42nd Annual Manzanar Pilgrimage, sponsored by the Los Angeles-based Manzanar Committee, scheduled for 12:00 PM PDT on Saturday, April 30, 2011, at the Manzanar National Historic Site, located on US Highway 395 in California’s Owens Valley, between the towns of Lone Pine and Independence, approximately 230 miles north of Los Angeles (see map below).

Each year, hundreds of students, teachers, community members, clergy and former internees attend the Pilgrimage and the Manzanar At Dusk program, which follows the afternoon program, starting at 5:00 PM at Lone Pine High School.

UCLA Kyodo Taiko, the first collegiate taiko group in North America, was founded in 1990 and made its debut at the Opening Ceremony of the University of California, Los Angeles’ commemoration of the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Japanese American Internment, which was held in 1992. Read more of this post

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Students Taking Leadership Role In 2011 Manzanar At Dusk Program

April 18, 2011 12 Comments

Eryn Tokuhara (center) and Matt Ichinose (left) listen intently to a former Japanese American concentration camp prisoner tell
his story during a small group discussion at the 2010 Manzanar
At Dusk program, held at Lone Pine High School on April 24, 2010.
Photo: Gann Matsuda

LOS ANGELES — College students will take the lead role during this year’s Manzanar At Dusk program, sponsored by the Los Angeles-based Manzanar Committee, scheduled from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM on Saturday, April 30, 2011, at the Lone Pine High School gymnasium, located at 538 South Main Street (US Highway 395), in Lone Pine, California, across the street from McDonald’s (see map below).

The Manzanar At Dusk (MAD) program follows the 42nd Annual Manzanar Pilgrimage, scheduled for 12:00 PM that same day, at the Manzanar National Historic Site, between the towns of Lone Pine and Independence, approximately 230 miles north of Los Angeles (see map below). Read more of this post

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Manzanar Hosts Special Events April 29 – May 1 For Annual Manzanar Pilgrimage

April 18, 2011 Leave a Comment

The following is a press release from the National Park Service.

To download a printable flyer,
click on the image above.

Manzanar National Historic Site invites the public to participate in a weekend of special activities surrounding the Manzanar Committee’s 42nd Annual Manzanar Pilgrimage. This year visitors will be able to experience music, paintings, speeches, a film screening, a docent talk, and a public reception. All events are free.

On Friday, April 29, the Independence Chamber of Commerce and the Friends of Eastern California Museum will host a public reception from 4:00 to 6:00 PM at the Eastern California Museum in Independence. The museum’s exhibits include Shiro and Mary Nomura’s Manzanar collection, a special exhibit 1,000 Words or More…Photogravures by Edward S. Curtis and Photographs by Andrew A. Forbes, and the Anna and O.K. Kelly Gallery of Native American Life. The Eastern California Museum is located at 155 Grant Street in Independence (see map below) and open daily 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM Read more of this post

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Mako Nakagawa To Keynote 42nd Annual Manzanar Pilgrimage

March 21, 2011 8 Comments

PILGRIMAGE: Bus Transportation Available From Los Angeles

LOS ANGELES — Mako Nakagawa, the primary author of the Power of Words resolution, passed in July 2010 by the National Council of the Japanese American Citizens League, will be the keynote speaker at the 42nd Annual Manzanar Pilgrimage, sponsored by the Los Angeles-based Manzanar Committee, scheduled for noon PDT on Saturday, April 30, 2011 at the US Highway 395 in California’s Owens Valley, between the towns of Lone Pine and Independence, approximately 230 miles north of Los Angeles (see map below).

Mako Nakagawa of Seattle, Washington, will
keynote the 42nd Annual Manzanar Pilgrimage
on April 30, 2011.
Photo: Mako Nakagawa

Each year, over 1,000 people from diverse backgrounds, including students, teachers, community members, clergy and former internees attend the Pilgrimage, which commemorates the unjust imprisonment of over 110,000 Americans of Japanese ancestry in ten American concentration camps located in the most desolate, isolated regions of the United States. Manzanar was the first of these camps to be established.

Nakagawa, 74, was born in Seattle, Washington. During World War II, she was incarcerated at the Puyallup Assembly Center in Washington, then at the Minidoka concentration camp in Idaho, and then at the Crystal City internment camp in Texas. Read more of this post

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Reflections On Manzanar At Dusk 2010

July 28, 2010 Leave a Comment

by James To

Draft resister Bill Nishimura during a small group discussion at the 2010 Manzanar At Dusk program, April 24, 2010.
Photo: Gann Matsuda

From my perspective, the 41st Annual Manzanar Pilgrimage on April 24, 2010, had a different impact on the mood of the people this year. I am not sure if it was the weather or the people, it certainly had a different feel for the day. I am grateful that draft resisters Takashi Hoshizaki and Bill Nishimura were our speakers at the Manzanar At Dusk 2010 program and that Tak was our speaker earlier in the day at the Pilgrimage.

As we prepared for the day’s event, there was the concern on how many people would come and did we have enough water. I guess a better question would be did we provide a good atmosphere for people to share their experience or for students to ask, “why I am here” or an even better question, “why did they send 10,000 people to the middle of the desert?” Read more of this post

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Connections And Common Bonds Are Key At Manzanar At Dusk Program

June 4, 2010 16 Comments

Eryn Tokuhara (center) listens intently to a former Japanese American
concentration camp prisoner tell his story during a small group
discussion at the 2010 Manzanar At Dusk program, held at
Lone Pine High School on April 24, 2010.
Photo: Gann Matsuda

LONE PINE, CA AND LOS ANGELES — Thirteen years ago, a group of about forty people, primarily college students, gathered for an evening program at a campground just west of Independence, California, about six miles north of the Manzanar National Historic Site.

That evening, they talked about Manzanar and the Japanese American Internment experience, along with its surrounding issues, during an intergenerational group discussion, connecting the past with present-day concerns. They also shared their own experiences through creative means such as poetry and other cultural performances. Read more of this post

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