Pauline Adamek
“Love To Nippon 2013” is a Memorial Event being held on March 10th, to commemorate the second Anniversary of Japan’s Worst Natural Disaster.
In addition to staging a memorial with music, dance, incense burning and flowers, there will also be a panel discussion, led by David Stone of LA Fire Department, addressing what Los Angeles is doing to be prepared for any future earthquake and/or tsunami.
The goal of Love To Nippon 2013 is to establish March 11th as an annual official disaster preparedness day.
Love to Nippon 2013, a memorial event to commemorate the second anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami, will take place at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 10, 2013, at the Los Angeles Police Department Headquarters, downtown LA.
Prayers, flower and incense offerings will begin at 2:30 p.m. The Love to Nippon 2013 memorial will begin at 3:30 p.m. Admission to the memorial is free, but seating is limited, and so reservations are recommended. (Info below.)
Presented by Japan America Society of Southern California (JASSC), Nichi Bei Fujin Kai (“Japan America Women’s Organization”) and Love to Nippon Project, this memorial event is a community-wide tribute to loved ones lost and for those still suffering from the March 11, 2011 catastrophe. The memorial will be a peaceful event with prayers, flower and incense offerings and a commemorative program that includes Japanese classical dance and musical tributes from local community and religious organizations. Guest speakers will also share how people can continue to help and encourage the victims in Japan to rebuild their lives. Love to Nippon 2013 attendees are encouraged to bring flowers or incense in loving remembrance of family members and friends lost, as well as those still affected by Japan’s worst natural disaster.
Love to Nippon 2013 guest presenters include: Japanese classical dancer, Madame Hisami Wakayagi; Japanese composer and singer Yusuke Tominaga; singer and 2011 Nisei Week Queen, Erika Olsen, and; the Holiness Youth Choir and the Orange County Friendship Choir. Los Angeles Fire Department battalion chief and first responder in Japan, David Stone, will also lead a panel discussion on what Los Angeles is doing to prepare for its own potential earthquake and tsunami.
Building on the overwhelming response of last year’s first annual Love to Nippon memorial event, this year the organizers have added activities to raise awareness of disaster preparedness, including outdoor booths and displays that will offer brochures and other materials. This is part of the Love to Nippon Project’s efforts to prepare the Southern Californian community for future natural disasters through sharing information and education. The group hopes to have “3.11” (March 11th) designated as an official disaster preparedness day for all of Southern California.
EVENT INFO:
“Love To Nippon 2013”
Memorial Event to commemorate the second Anniversary of Japan’s Worst Natural Disaster.
WHERE: Los Angeles Police Department Headquarters, Ronald F. Deaton Civic Auditorium, 100 W. First Street, Los Angeles, California
WHEN: SUNDAY, MARCH 10, 2013, 2:30 PM – 5:30 PM
WHY: To pay tribute via prayer, flowers, incense, music, dance and discussion to loved ones lost and those still suffering from the March 11, 2011 earthquake in Japan. Presented by Japan America Society of Southern California (JASSC), Nichi Bei Fujin Kai (“Japan America Women’s Organization”) and Love to Nippon Project, this memorial event will also raise awareness of disaster preparedness, including a panel discussion on what LA is doing to prepare for future earthquakes and tsunamis led by the LA Fire Department’s Battalion Chief and first responder in Japan, David Stone, plus outdoor booths and displays that will offer emergency preparedness brochures and other materials. Love to Nippon hopes to have “3.11” (March 11th) designated as an official disaster preparedness day for all of Southern California. More detailed info is below.
COST: FREE
RESERVATIONS: Recommended, as seating is limited, by registering online here.
CONTACT: Ms. Paola Itikawa via email here (424) 216-2926
About the ‘Love to Nippon Project’:
A Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami survivor, Masako Unoura, founded the Love to Nippon Project in 2011. Unoura resides in Los Angeles but she was visiting her hometown of Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, when the earthquake and tsunami struck. Together with the full support of Doug Erber, president of JASSC, Unoura created the Love to Nippon Project with the heartfelt goal of commemorate the disaster each year for ten years, and to work to establish “3.11” as an official day of disaster preparedness.
Brian Sonia-Wallace
