This year, the Gardena Valley Japanese Cultural Institute’s Day of Remembrance (DOR) 2022 event will be held online via Zoom, culminating in a special presentation on Saturday, Feb. 26 from 2 to 4 p.m. The DOR theme will be “Camp Creativity: Resilience Through Art,” with the intention of highlighting the courage, expressions of their thoughts and emotions, healing, and creativity of camp survivors through fine and performing arts. A DOR organizer for the JCI said the virtual event will be filled with various visual and audio features. “Specifically, we will be sharing works ranging from cultural performances, big band music, and more,” Stephanie Mayeda, GVJCI program manager said. “From Feb. 22-25, the GVJCI will be publishing these stories through special video interviews, film clips, music playlists and photographs.” The Feb. 26 live program will feature keynote speaker Delphine Hirasuna, author of “The Art of Gaman and All That Remains,” and will conduct interviews with some of those featured throughout the week of the virtual DOR, including filmmaker and musician Shirley Muramoto Wong (“Hidden Legacy: Japanese Traditional Performing Arts in the World War II Internment Camps”) and associate film producer and artist Amy Uyeki (“Searchlight Serenade”). “We hope the community will be able to walk away with a greater understanding of the history of this time period and the fortitude and resilience of its survivors,” Mayeda said. The current DOR schedule: Tuesday, Feb. 22 is the Big Band Music in the Camps; Wednesday, Feb. 23 are Camp Comedy Performances; Thursday, Feb. 24 are Japanese Cultural and Performing Arts; Friday, Feb. 25 is the Fine Art in the Camps/Haiku; and Saturday, Feb. 26 is Live Virtual Program from 2 to 4 p.m. To register for the live program, visit the GVJCI website (www.jci-gardena.org). Admission is free, but donations are appreciated. Those who donate a minimum of $20 are eligible for a commemorative GVJCI DOR pin set gift. This program is co-sponsored by the George and Sakaye Aratani CARE Award and UCLA Asian American Studies Center.
