JAPAN RELIEF FUNDRAISER HELD BY WFWP MEMBERS IN WASHINGTON D.C.
Washington, DC – Madame Yukiyo Sakata, founder of the Tokyo-based floral design studio "Madame Yuki Culture Salon," is making a special trip from Japan to demonstrate Japanese floral design to participants of the "Japan-Aid Festival" on Sunday, May 1st from 1-4 p.m. at New Hope Academy in Landover Hills (7009 Varnum St., in Landover Hills, Maryland 20784).
Madame Yuki has demonstrated the art of Ikebana (floral design) in Hollywood, New York, Stockholm, Bangkok, Seoul and on embassy row in Tokyo. "You can feel Japanese culture through flowers," Madame Yuki writes on her website.
She will teach a lesson in English in Ikebana, and guests will create their own floral arrangement to keep, for the modest donation of $8. This is a value of $35 in Japan--not to mention saving the price of the airfare
To aid the victims of the recent earthquakes, tsunami and nuclear power-plant breakdown, funds are being raised at this Red-Cross approved event through demonstrations of Japanese cooking, art, popular music, and flower arranging, with all donations going to the Red Cross and the Japanese Women's Federation for World Peace. A speaker from the American Red Cross has been invited.
The suggested donation of $10 gets participants an array of Japanese delicacies, including sushi, noodle dishes, or chicken teriyaki as well as access to the benefit concert in the school's auditorium. Artists include the Japanese girls choir, "Arigato," the Washington AIDS International Teens dance team, opera singer Emiko Nadimi in selections from the original symphony "Suite for Peace," and Maryland's newest grunge-rock group, "The Rumble," who will introduce their original works as well as covering a Japanese pop song. Participants can also view demonstrations of traditional Japanese calligraphy on cloth, the art of origami paper folding, and can even share their own vocal talents through karaoke.
Ms. Kaeleigh Moffitt and Ms. Teresa Ferrete, students at the University of Maryland, are chief organizers of the event. Japanese-American residents of Prince George's County are also among the organizers of the festival, including Keiko Burton of Greenbelt, Yoshimi Ozaki of Laurel and Mitsuaki Aoyama of Landover Hills. "Over the years, the Japanese Women's Federation for World Peace has sent volunteers to build schools in Africa and to do micro-lending to women in developing countries," explains Mrs. Keiko Burton, "but they rarely have done charitable projects in Japan itself. This is an opportunity for the people of all countries to give back to Japan at an hour of need."
For more information, please check out our Facebook event titled, "Help Rebuild Japan."
