The VNCS Heritage Committee will hold the annual Obon walking tour of Japanese gravesites in Ross Bay Cemetery in person, sharing the stories of several of the 152 pioneers interred.
Meet at Ross Bay Cemetery entrance at the corner of Stannard Avenue and Fairfield Road. COVID-19 precaution measures will be in place.
Cost:
VNCS members: Free
Old Cemeteries Society members: $2
General: $5
No registration required.
Fees: $75 for VNCS members and $95 for non-members Instructor: Dr. Hiroko Noro, Associate Professor Emerita, University of Victoria Registration: Please email Mieko Fedrau for more information and registration form.
We hope to see many of you in our Zoom class!
TIME: 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM– Washing of Headstones/Graves
LOCATION: Ross Bay Cemetery, 1495 Fairfield Road, Victoria – Kakehashi Stone area
Ross Bay Cemetery Map showing Japanese Grave clusters and the Kakehashi Stone.
Summer 2021 has been busy for so many of us, with many COVID-19 restrictions being lifted or modified in Phase 3 of the BC Restart Plan. Our annual gathering for Obon has been affected again this year but we look forward to your continued support of this event.
The VNCS and The Japanese Friendship Society have joined this year to co-host this Obon event.
Buddhist Service & social gathering – The Buddhist service at the Kakehashi Stone as well as the social gathering that usually follows have been cancelled
Flowers – Donations of flowers for placement at the Kakehashi Stone and gravesides are appreciated. (These will be placed at the time of cleaning.)
Washing of Grave Headstones – We are looking for volunteers to assist with washing the headstones of the 152 graves of pioneers of Japanese descent. This task will take place in the morning as we hope it will be a more temperate time of the day.
For volunteers/participants:
Face Masks – Review the BC Restart Plan website for guidelines regarding your personal circumstance/choice about wearing a face-mask. Hand sanitizer and masks will be available at the site.
Gloves – Disposable gloves will be available. You are also welcome to bring your own work gloves.
Cleaning Equipment – Pails, brushes, and hoses will be provided.
Refreshments – Bottled water will be provided. No food will be provided.
Seating – Seating will be very limited. (Some benches may be available.)
Parking – New sidewalks have been installed along the Memorial Crescent side of the cemetery. Please take note of new signs regarding residential parking.
Please do not attend if you or anyone in your group:
has had symptoms of COVID-19 in the 14 days prior to this event
is under the direction of the Provincial Health Officer to self-isolate
has arrived from outside of Canada and is still in the 14-day quarantine period
We look forward to welcoming you on this day – the first time in a year as a community! If you have any questions, please email us.
It is again time to plan for our annual Japanese Cultural Fair. Last year, due to the Covid-19 pandemic and community safety restrictions, we could not hold an in-person fair, but instead held an online cultural fair broadcast from the Belfry Theatre.
With the BC Restart Plan well underway we would like to gauge past and potential fair attendee’s interest in the VNCS pursuing an in-person fair or whether we should stay virtual for one more year, or even potentially postpone the fair till the Spring of 2022. YOUR VOICE IS IMPORTANT and we would love to hear from you to help us in our planning!
Please complete our short, anonymous survey by Sunday, July 25. You can also send your feedback to info@vncs.ca. Arigatou!!!
Seated – Mary Kimoto; standing – Ellen Kimoto Crowe-Swords and Project Manager Eiko Eby.
NEWS FROM THE JC SURVIVORS
HEALTH & WELLNESS FUND
OUTREACH
Our team has been contacting many survivors, small groups, and community organizations, across the country to get a sense of the needs of our seniors’ populations. We have learned that there are a number of active survivors involved in wellness activities run by sub-groups of community organizations. We have also learned there are a large number of frail survivors trying to live safely who are supported by family and friends for the activities of daily living. Some of these seniors have no supports. This group is largely underserved and there is a need for more community supports and health care services for these frail seniors.
CRITERIA
Nikkei Seniors is pleased to announce the release of the Grant Information, with criteria, for the Japanese Canadian Survivors Health & Wellness Fund (JCSHWF). jcwellness.org
There are three categories of eligibility: Organizations, Small Groups, and Underserved Individuals. Organizations may apply for up to two grants. Small groups and the underserved may apply for one grant only.
The maximum awards are up to $10,000 per application for organizations, $3000 for small groups, and $750 for underserved individuals.
INFORMATION SESSIONS FOR THE JC SURVIVORS HEALTH & WELLNESS FUND
Four (4) General Zoom sessions are scheduled to explain and repeat the Grant Information and answer questions. More meetings will be added as necessary.
The scheduled JCSHWF – General Grant Information Sessions are on Zoom. You must register in advance for the meetings and the registration links are listed below. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
In celebration of Asian Heritage Month, the VNCS will be holding a virtual event over Zoom:
Sunday, May 30, 2021
2:00 PM – 3:30 PM PDT
Recording of the Virtual Hanami Celebration
Questions?
If you have anything you’d like to ask our presenters, send your questions to info@vncs.ca prior to or during the presentations. We will do our best to have them answered during the event.
Ikebana Lesson
MichikoSeguev– originally from Tokyo, she started to have a strong interest in Ikebana in her early childhood as she accompanied her mother to her (Mother’s) Ikebana lessons at Ohara School. Later on at her work in an advertising agency, her passion for Ikebana was rekindled when she had a chance to arrange flowers for work. She resumed studying Ikebana under Sōraku at Sōgetsu School and obtained a teaching certificate. She has been teaching Ikebana since her arrival in Victoria and providing VNCS Ikebana classes for more than 15 years.
Sake Tasting
Shino Yamashiro – Shino is a sake specialist, certified as an International kikisake-shi by SSI (Sake Service Institute in Japan) and a menu developer at “E:ne raw food + sake bar”, where more than 50 selections of sake are served and is the very first “sake bar“ in Victoria. Shino was very much inspired and fell in love with the unique world of sake 4 years ago. Shino found that many local guests love wine and also have a great curiosity towards sake when she introduced them to all the breadth and complexity that sake has to offer. Introducing sake and making it more approachable to people became her passion. She wants to encourage people to enjoy sake “as is” or by pairing with varieties of food, not just Japanese food. Shino hopes that a sake menu becomes more and more popular at restaurants.
Shino will be sampling two types of sake during her presentation:
Pick up one or both bottles ahead of time and taste along with her from the comfort of your home! Check for local availability using the “Where to buy” button in the BC Liquor Store links provided.
Support the Community
We encourage you to help support our community however you are able, perhaps by ordering take-out from your favourite local restaurants, making a donation to the VNCS, or simply attending as we celebrate Asian heritage and culture this May.
We at the Victoria Nikkei Cultural Society are deeply troubled by recent reports across the country and from our neighbours to the south about the rise in anti-Asian racism.
As a society, we must stand against racism of any type. As we have seen again and again, unchecked racism is a blight on society. It harms individuals. It harms communities. It harms the very fabric of our nation.
Here in Canada, we have seen the consequences of anti-Asian racism in our history. In the Second World War, Canadians of Japanese heritage living on the West Coast were sent to internment camps and stripped of their property – homes, fishing boats, businesses. Members of Victoria’s Japanese community lived through these times, and many more had parents who were impacted.
Sharing our culture is woven into the very fabric of the Victoria Nikkei Cultural Society, and we hope that one day we can see an end to anti-Asian and all forms of racism. We encourage everyone – Asian and non-Asian – to take part in rallies taking place to voice concerns about racism.
There are useful online resources with tools to confront racism below. They also provide tools to help report hate crimes, something that is critical if authorities and the community are to get a true understanding of the extent of these incidents.
The VNCS AGM will be held on Sunday, Feb 21, 2021, 10 AM to 12 PM. Due to the COVID-19 lock down, this will be a virtual gathering using Zoom. To attend the AGM you must register in advance. Click here to register.
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
To vote at the AGM you must be a paid up member of the VNCS. You can take out or renew a membership through our Web site, vncs.ca and pay using e-transfer.
AGM Agenda
9:45 am
AGM Assembly (Logging on to Zoom)
10:00 am
Call to order
Approval of Agenda
Approval of Minutes of Annual General Meeting held Feb 9, 2020
10:05 am
Reports
President’s Report: Tsugio Kurushima
Treasurer’s Report: Ken Watai
Newsletter/Communications Report: Yukari Peerless
Virtual Cultural Fall Fair Report: Tsugio Kurushima
Website Report: Craig Mercer
Uminari Taiko Report: Susan Kurushima
Furusato Dancers Report: Tsugio Kurushima
Sakura Fujinkai Report: Susan Kurushima
NAJC Report: Tsugio Kurushima
Community Outreach Program: Mieko Fedrau
Membership Report: Tsugio Kurushima for Tony Ibaraki
Endowed Award at UVic Report: Craig Mercer
Other Business
11:30 am
Election of Officers and Directors: Debbie Ibaraki
