From front, Precious Narusawa, Kiana Weaver and Christiana Galeai perform a Hawaiian pearly shells dance at the Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month culture day Saturday at the Taiyo Recreation Center on Yokota Air Base, Japan. (Jim Schulz / Stars and Stripes)
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan — A few hundred people turned out Saturday at the Taiyo Recreation Center for a taste of Asian-Pacific culture delivered in a colorful array of food and entertainment.
The annual cultural show is typically the centerpiece of the base’s Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month celebration, held each May.
“It’s our most popular event,” said 1st Lt. Cynthia Flores of the 730th Air Mobility Squadron, the chairperson of this year’s Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month committee. “The turnout is great. It’s wonderful. They were lined up outside just to come in here.”
Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month commemorates the arrival of the first Japanese immigrants to the United States in 1843. Initially designated as a weeklong event in 1979, President George H.W. Bush expanded the celebration to a monthlong commemoration in 1990.
It was created to allow Americans of Asian or Pacific Islander heritage an opportunity to share their pride and showcase their culture.
The official theme at Yokota this year is “Reaching Out to Youth, A Strategy for Excellence.” Displays featuring artifacts from several countries were propped up at the Taiyo, the base library and the Yokota Community Center. Committee member Dennis Jackson made posters that were placed around Yokota.
Saturday’s show featured songs, dances and demonstrations depicting assorted Asian-Pacific cultures, and food samples gave visitors a taste of places such as Korea, Samoa, Hawaii, Guam, the Philippines, Thailand and Japan.
“We’ve gotten a wonderful reception this month,” Flores said. “It’s been great. We’ve had a lot of participation and a lot of people interested in helping out with the events.
“The fun part is working with the people who donated their time, efforts and food to help make this happen.”
Partial funding for the month’s activities came from the 374th Airlift Wing, she said. Other sponsors included the base’s Filipino-American Association, Korean-American Association and the Sons of Hawaii.
An adult coed volleyball tournament was slated for Sunday. The celebration’s final event takes place Thursday at the Yokota Enlisted Club, where Maj. Benjamin Kam, a staff orthopedic surgeon for the 374th Medical Group, will be the guest speaker during a farewell luncheon.
From front, Precious Narusawa, Kiana Weaver and Christiana Galeai perform a Hawaiian pearly shells dance at the Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month culture day Saturday at the Taiyo Recreation Center on Yokota Air Base, Japan. (Jim Schulz / Stars and Stripes)
Airman 1st Class Tehani Hanohano, front, from the 374th Maintenance Squadron, and Staff Sgt. Bernie Ignacio, from the 374th Communications Squadron, perform a Hawaiian dance called the ikona dance. (Jim Schulz / Stars and Stripes)
Precious Narusawa, left, performs a Hawaiian war chant dance. (Jim Schulz / Stars and Stripes)
