| | Mochitsuki Wishing you a joyful New Year as we welcome the Year of the Snake! We are deeply grateful to everyone who attended our 2025 Mochitsuki event, helping to make it a resounding success. The turnout was fantastic, and we particularly enjoyed watching the participants, especially the children, passionately pound the rice! The mochi was delicious, and we hope it brings everyone good fortune and health in the coming year. The drum performance by the Sun Mountain Taiko group was a highlight that everyone thoroughly enjoyed and added to the festivities and atmosphere. We look forward to meeting and getting to know the new members who joined us at the event, as well as thanking those who renewed their memberships. There are many more people to thank, and I wish to recognize the following: A special thanks goes to Eric Basco and Kaori Katsamata for their hard work in making the mochi and coordinating all the kitchen volunteers. I also want to recognize the contributions of our dedicated Board members who played a crucial role in making this event a success: Jennifer Basco, Laura Villagrana, Rayna Lindsey, Kaz Nagai, Seiko Cammack, Uriko Stout, and our newest Board member, Naomi Wise. A Special thanks to Naomi Wise and our intern, Maeve Gennett as they managed the volunteer process. Our other intern, Joe Nelson also made contributions. I would like to extend my gratitude to all the volunteers who contributed to the success of Mochitsuki. Volunteers are essential to our sustained success, and their contributions to the Colorado Springs community are vital to this charitable work. Volunteers give up time in their lives to contribute to JASSC with the added benefit of enriching our community. A thank you also goes to Elizabeth Quevedo and her team at the Family Success Center - Peaks Peak United Way, for their support and hospitality that opened the Mochitsuki Event to a new venue and location in the city; community support was amazing! Special thanks again this year to Kaori Wallbridge at Menya Briargate for their contribution and generous donations of sweet rice and mochi ingredients. New this year was a donation of rice, tsubu-anko, and ramune from Sung at the Asiana Market. We sincerely appreciate the enthusiastic support and participation of the Colorado Springs community on behalf of the JASSC Mochitsuki Event. This year we aim to host a variety of traditional events that celebrate Japanese culture, language, and cuisine all in the spirit of cultural exchange and education. We eagerly anticipate your continued involvement and support. Thank you! (Events will be listed on the JASSC website allowing you to plan ahead and mark your calendars to "save-the-date".) It was a wonderful day and a fantastic event that showcased how the members of JASSC embody the spirit of our community. Thank you all for your dedication and hard work! Finally, it was awesome to share, laugh, and enjoy mochi together. M. Wayne Stout
President of Japan America Society of Southern Colorado | | | | | Call for Native Japanese Speakers We are looking for native speakers to lead small group discussions in Japanese. Each group will interact for 15 to 20 minutes before rotating to another table. Participants bring cookies and snacks to enjoy during each session. There are also Japanese language games to further facilitate discussion. If interested, please contact Ayumi Peek (ayumiohishi@gmail.com) 日本語を母国語とする方々へ。この集まりは月に一度の土曜日に、クッキーを食べながら4〜5人のグループに分かれて日本語で話したりカードゲームをする交流会です。参加者のグループは15分から20分ごとにテーブルを移動します。そこで、それぞれのテーブルで会話を率先していただけるボランティアさんを随時募集しています！もしご興味のある方はお手数ですがピーク歩(ayumiohishi@gmail.com)までご連絡ください。よろしくお願いします。 | | | Sun Mountain Taiko is looking for a fue player to perform with us on certain songs. We don’t necessarily need someone that can commit to being part of the group full-time, but perhaps on an as needed basis. Thank you so much! It was nice to see you at the Mochitsuki event. Warm regards,
Bonnie Goodall | | | | | | | Japanese Calligraphy Classes for Beginners Instructor: Sachiko Snow Click here for details. This four week class introduces how to write anything you want such as your name, your favorite word, or your family's name in Japanese. We use a brush and black ink, which is called Sumi to write. You can leave class with a finished piece of art you create. SATURDAYS | FEBRUARY 1-22 | 2 PM TO 4 PM | $120 FRIDAYS | FEBRUARY 7-28 | 6 PM TO 8 PM | $120 ** SATURDAYS | MARCH 1-22 | 2 PM TO 4 PM | $120 FRIDAYS | MARCH 7-28 | 6 PM TO 8 PM | $120 | | | Beginning Haiku Classes These classes will be held at Cottonwood Center for the Arts, same place as Sachi's calligraphy class. The dates are 03FEB, 10FEB, 17FEB & 24FEB - so every Monday in Feb - from 6:00PM - 8:00PM. Here is a link to the class description on the Cottonwood website: BEGINNING HAIKU — Cottonwood Center for the Arts The instructor is Rachel Lentz. | | | KODO, One Earth Tour 2025: Warabe Taiko group from Sado Island, Japan. Performing at the Pikes Peak Center, Sunday, February 16, 7pm. Click here for tickets. | | | Natso Mini Con Date: February 22nd | | | | | | | | | | | Nominate an Asian Pacific Islander to be Inducted into the Milton E. Proby Cultural Heritage Room The Milton E. Proby (MEP) Cultural Heritage Room honors the contributions of African-American, Asian Pacific Islander, Hispanic/Latino, and Native American individuals from Southern Colorado. It celebrates leaders of color who exemplify civic involvement and leadership. Research assistance to complete the nomination packet may be available through PPLD. Email eldprogram@elpomar.org for further information. This year's induction ceremony, honoring an Asian Pacific Islander leader, will be held on August 15. Nominations Due: Friday, February 28 Learn More and Nominate | | | Green Is the New Black Fashion Extravaganza Green Is the New Black is an alluring, dynamic show featuring both local and regional designers and models, dancers and performers with multimedia storytelling. Transforming the Carbondale Rec Center into a glitzy fashion house, this event sells out annually with 600+ tickets sold per night. It's not to be missed! Returning March 6-8, 2025 Carbondale Arts Fashion Show: Camera Obscura March 6-8, 2025 | Carbondale, CO Deco-Boco, Colorado Springs (JASSC members Gaby Oshiro & Janis Takami Couey are fashion designers for this show.) | | | Ikebana Sogetsu Demonstration and Workshop This event will cover Suiban Arrangement without Kenzan Dates: March 19-20, 2025 Please see the Ikebana website for more information. | | | Annual Amache Pilgrimage Date: May 16-18, 2025 Pilgrimages to WWII concentration camps for Japanese descendants began in the late 1960s, with the first formal pilgrimage to Amache occurring during Colorado's centennial in 1975-76. The annual one-day Amache Pilgrimage usually takes place on the Saturday before Memorial Day, with this year's event on May 17, 2025, marking the 50th Anniversary. Nikkeijin Kai of Colorado and the Amache Preservation Society will coordinate the memorial services and potluck lunch, continuing a tradition of over 40 years for Denver pilgrims. Here are the related sites: https://amache.org/current-activity-news/ https://www.amachealliance.org/projects-nonprofit [Editor's note: this is a very interesting and cool event, and well worth your time and the drive.] | | | | | Welcome to our new JASSC members in January! Ken Hashimoto Cody Newlon Mike Olsen Anh Pham | | | Hope and Femininity in the Year of the Snake The Year of the Snake embodies transformation, femininity, and duality, reflected in cultural myths, artistic expressions, and reinterpretations across generations Maya Garabedian / MutualArt, Jan 28, 2025 Lunar New Year, also known as the Spring Festival or Chinese New Year, is one of the most significant celebrations in many Asian cultures, particularly those with Sinic cultural heritage – countries within the East Asian cultural sphere, civilizations with Confucian roots, and Chinese diaspora. The holiday, which falls on January 29, marks the beginning of two weeks of celebration and, more importantly, the lunar calendar. Traditionally, people celebrate by cleaning their homes to sweep away bad luck, preparing festive meals, giving red envelopes (hongbao) filled with money for good fortune, and participating in cultural performances such as dragon and lion dances. The Lunar New Year fosters a sense of cultural identity, strengthens familial bonds, and brings hope for happiness, health, and success in the coming year. Please see this PDF for the rest of the article, with nice photos. | | | The well-known Kikkoman Corporation publishes a quarterly online newsletter about Japanese food culture, traditions, trends and recipes. To sign up, email kikkoman_foodforum@cosmopr.co.jp with subject line "Start a new subscription". See this PDF for more information: Kikkoman.pdf | | | Other Interesting Organizations Want more news? Check out these other organizations supporting Asian Americans in Colorado and beyond!
- Golden Lotus Foundation - The GLF is working hard to build a botanical garden and tea house in Colorado Springs. They are always looking for volunteers, so sign up for their newsletter if you are interested!
- NAJAS - the National Association of Japan America Societies is the hub of all other JAS in the US.
- Japan America Society of Colorado (Denver) - JASC is our closest sibling organization, with most of their happenings located in Denver. They have a community e-bulletin which they send out monthly as well.
- El Pomar Foundation - Elevating Leadership Development Program. The ELD program is run by the El Pomar foundation and creates "greater access and support for people of color in Southern Colorado to tap into their leadership potential for the benefit of community." Their quarterly meetings are free to attend and convene advisory councils for the following groups: Asian / Pacific Islander, Black, Hispanic, and Native American.
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- Asian Pacific Islander Business Community of Colorado Springs - this new organization is building better connections to and awareness of Asian-led businesses in Colorado Springs. The link is to their linktree, which includes a newsletter signup.
| | | | | About JASSC JASSC web site Send us your news! Let us know what you’d like to see in the next newsletter. Please email the editor, Rayna Lindsey
rayna@japanamerica.org Did you know that you can edit your own address, phone and email information right on the japanamerica.org website? Simply enter your email and password in the upper-right corner and click Login. Don't know your password? Click Forgot Password and the website will help you out. You will also find a secure password-protected online member directory. Use it to look up names, addresses, phone numbers and emails for other members.
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