Snow Falling on Cedars - Bainbridge Island Historical Museum
Transcription
Snow Falling on Cedars - Bainbridge Island Historical Museum
Snow Falling on Cedars Community & Educational Outreach, 2015 Local Historical Background The exclusion began on Bainbridge Island on March 30, 1942, when 227 men, women and children — two–thirds of them American citizens — were removed from their homes by U.S. Army soldiers and sent to relocation camps in the California desert. While their departure was mourned by many of their neighbors, not all welcomed their return after the war. The exclusion and its aftermath thus form a crucial part of the Island’s history as well as a reminder of the ongoing need for diversity, justice, and vigilant protection of our civil and constitutional rights. Photo: “Kitamoto family with soldier” from the Seattle Post Intelligencer collection at the Museum of History and Industry. Courtesy of the Bainbridge Island Historical Society. Please join us for SNOW FALLING ON CEDARS March 13 – 29 at Bainbridge Performing Arts Kate Carruthers directs the hauntingly lyrical saga adapted from David Guterson’s acclaimed story of mystery, love, and identity. Set in 1954 in a Puget Sound community divided among fishermen and farmers, whites and Japanese, SNOW FALLING ON CEDARS is at once a courtroom drama, a mystery, a love story and, in flashbacks, a social history freighted with the angry residue of World War II and the exclusion of Japanese Americans. Carruthers says, “If we don’t repeat these stories, we forget. The theatre is where stories are meant to be shared, and the best theatre grows out of the experiences of the originating community.” Pictured: Port Blakely in 1890 with Hall Brothers Shipyard in the foreground and the Blakely Mill in the background. Photo: E. Lincoln. Courtesy of the Bainbridge Island Historical Society. Snow Falling on Cedars Community & Educational Outreach, 2015 Join us for an openhearted conversation surrounding exclusion, intolerance, history, and community. Please take this calendar, make time for the events, reflect, and join the community conversation! Beginning February 14 Bainbridge Public Library 1270 Madison Ave. N. ONLINE: www.krl.org FREE February 21 & 22 Saturday & Sunday @ 7:30 p.m. Bainbridge Public Library 1270 Madison Ave. N. FREE February 27 Friday @ 6:30 – 8:30 p.m. Bainbridge Public Library 1270 Madison Ave. N. FREE March 6 Friday @ 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. Bainbridge Performing Arts 200 Madison Ave. N. FREE March 6 – 31 Gallery hours are 12:00 – 5:00 p.m. Tuesday – Friday + one hour prior to each performance. Bainbridge Performing Arts 200 Madison Ave. N. FREE March 10 Tuesday @ 7:00 p.m. Bainbridge Public Library 1270 Madison Ave. N. FREE March 13 – 29 See times at right. Bainbridge Performing Arts 200 Madison Ave. N. TICKETED $27/$22/$19 Open Archives: Bainbridge Review Online (1941 – 1946) The Bainbridge branch of Kitsap Regional Library and the Bainbridge Island Historical Museum are proud to announce the launch of the Bainbridge Review online for the years 1941-1946. Community members and researchers can now search the Review for specific words, names, or topics – or read through the papers as they appeared in the 1940s, complete with advertisements, classified ads, and other items of interest from the period. View the open archives at www.krl.org/kitsap-history. Dear Editor: Letters to the Bainbridge Review Island Theatre presents a dramatic reading of selected letters to the Bainbridge Review from the 1920’s through the 1970’s to illustrate the role of a local paper in community life. Japanese American Exclusion Film Talks The Bainbridge Island Japanese American Community (BIJAC) presents three short films - Red Pines, The Woman Behind the Symbol, and Visible Target – relating to the Japanese American exclusion experience on Bainbridge Island, followed by discussions facilitated by BIJAC members. First Friday Art Walk at the BPA Gallery: “Ansel Adams – A Portrait of Manzanar” The Bainbridge Island Historical Museum installs its award-winning exhibit, “Ansel Adams: A Portrait of Manzanar,” in the BPA lobby during the March run of SNOW FALLING ON CEDARS. Join us for a special reception in the BPA Gallery March 6 for the exhibit opening and a stimulating evening of history, art, food, and friends. BPA Gallery: “Ansel Adams – A Portrait of Manzanar” The Bainbridge Island Historical Museum’s awardwinning exhibit of photos taken by Ansel Adams during a 1943 visit to a “War Relocation Center” are on display in the BPA Gallery throughout March. The exhibit displays an ensemble of visual representations from the World War II era, including local images and artifacts from the Historical Museum, with selected items on loan from the collections of Frank Kitamoto, Mary Woodward, and David Guterson. Open 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. every day, the Historical Museum’s own extensive collection of historical materials from before, during, and after World War II is readily available to the public. “Our Japanese to Enemy Aliens: Incarceration and the Role of the Local Press” Glenda Pearson, head of Microform and Newspaper Collections for UW libraries, presents a slide talk on how Seattle area newspapers covered the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the exclusion. The blatant racism that fueled the call for removal of West Coast Japanese pioneers and their children is evident in NW papers, large and small, before and during the war. One exception is The Bainbridge Island Review whose young publishers spoke out early in opposition to Executive Order 9066 and continued throughout the war. A greater percentage returned to Bainbridge Island than any other community. Glenda's insights into how the media used words to persuade in 1942 are fresh and relevant today. Public Performances of SNOW FALLING ON CEDARS Against the backdrop of an America torn by World War II, cultures and communities clash when a Japanese American islander is accused of murder. This hauntingly lyrical saga—adapted from David Guterson’s acclaimed story of mystery, love, and identity—deftly shifts from courtroom to strawberry fields to bloody battlefront, digging for hard truths buried in a forgotten history. Fridays & Saturdays @ 7:30 p.m. + Sundays @ 3:00 p.m. | Pay-What-You-Can Preview: Thursday, March 12 @ 7:30 p.m. | Opening Night Reception: Friday, March 13 @ 6:30 p.m. Join us for post-show panel discussions following each matinee. Info: 206.842.8569 or www.bainbridgeperformingarts.org March 15, 22, 29 Sundays after the matinee Bainbridge Performing Arts 200 Madison Ave. N. FREE March 22 Post-Show Discussions SNOW FALLING ON CEDARS Stick around for a post-performance “talk back” with cast members and Bainbridge Islanders who lived through World War II and Japanese American Exclusion. Discussions, in a Q&A format, will be facilitated by EduCulture’s Only What We Can Carry Project, and will feature esteemed local guests such as Kay Sakai Nakao, Mary Woodward, and Lilly Kitamoto Kodama. Author David Guterson: Looking Back, Warily, But with Affection Sun. @ 1 pm Bainbridge Performing Arts 200 Madison Ave. N. FREE March 26 Thurs. Morning & Afternoon, TBA Bainbridge Performing Arts 200 Madison Ave. N. FREE March 26 As an adjunct to BPA’s March presentation of SNOW FALLING ON CEDARS, Bainbridge Performing Arts is very pleased to welcome David Guterson for a special pre-show presentation March 22. Twenty years after the first publication of Snow Falling on Cedars, its author reflects back on the influences, ideals, and ambitions that led to its writing and what the book means to him now. Followed by audience Q&A. School Outreach Performances of SNOW FALLING ON CEDARS Author David Guterson readily admits to drawing from Bainbridge Island’s wooded and rain drenched landscape, its history, and some authentic Bainbridge characters in crafting his novel. BPA’s production of SNOW FALLING ON CEDARS will therefore make a valuable contribution towards educating its community about its important history and its artistic vitality. Two daytime performances for students. In Defense of Our Neighbors: The Walt & Milly Woodward Story Thurs. 7:30 p.m. FREE Eagle Harbor Books welcomes Bainbridge native Mary Woodward to read from her book…a dual profile in courage of her parents, Milly and Walt. Their newspaper, the Bainbridge Island Review, opposed the forced removal and incarceration of 120,000 Japanese Americans after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. The six-day notice of removal was posted March 24, 1942. Mary will focus on the preparation that the Islanders made to leave their homes. March 30 Exclusion Commemoration Eagle Harbor Book Co. 157 Winslow Way E. Mon. 9 am – 1 pm Bainbridge Island Japanese American Memorial Pritchard Park, 4192 Eagle Harbor Drive NE FREE April 9 Inspired by the unique legacy of a community that welcomed its Japanese American friends and neighbors home after World War II, visitors gather for a commemorative event at the memorial, where they may walk in the footsteps of those who were exiled, share in reflection, and, if so inspired, offer service in the form of maintenance or improvements to the National Historic Site. This year’s event includes both a special appearance by Congressman Derek Kilmer and the revealing of a new sculpture specially designed for the memorial at 11:00 a.m. Film Screening: Snow Falling on Cedars Thurs. 7:00 p.m. $10 at the door The Multicultural Advisory Council (MAC) to the Bainbridge Island School District is showing the film Snow Falling on Cedars for adults, rated PG-13. MAC is doing a legacy project for Frank Kitamoto and has grants for teachers so they can go to conferences, or get books, relating to multicultural education. Thursday, April 9th at the BIMA auditorium, 7:00 PM. Tickets, $10, may be purchased online at www.eventbrite.com/event/16291582562. Proceeds from the showing will be used to fund multicultural education programs in our schools and to launch the Frank Kitamoto Legacy Project. Light food and beverages may be purchased at the BIMA Bistro prior to the showing. April 25 StoryShare Featuring David Schulz Bainbridge Island Museum of Art, Auditorium 550 Winslow Way E. TICKETED Sat. @ 9 am Waterfront Community Center 370 Brien Drive FREE August 13 Time TBA Bainbridge Performing Arts 200 Madison Ave. N. TICKETED Price TBA. Join us for a presentation on cultural mythology and the collective memory in this riveting “summary conversation” to the SNOW FALLING ON CEDARS community activities. David Schulz has presented research globally on issues of rhetoric, public memory, and social movements. He is a professor and Chair of Communication at Trinity Lutheran College in Everett, Washington. The Exclusion Tag Project will be on display. The emphasis will be on lessons learned and how we, as a community, move thoughtfully forward from here. Seattle Opera World Premiere PREVIEW: An American Dream by Jack Perla Inspired by true stories from our region’s history, An American Dream is set during World War II and explores the lives of two Puget Sound women: a Japanese American facing internment and a German Jewish immigrant preoccupied with those she left behind. Moderated audience discussions bookend the opera. Learn more online: http://www.bainbridgeperformingarts.org/collections/snow-falling-outreach Snow Falling on Cedars Community & Educational Outreach, 2015 OUR SUPPORTERS / COLLABORATORS WAYS TO GET INVOLVED StoryBooth & SNOW FALLING ON CEDARS Bainbridge Island Japanese American Community Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial Visit the Waterfront Community Center’s newly installed phone booth where visitors have an opportunity to become part of history. Phone booth occupants will receive questions provided through visual prompts. As part of BPA’s community and educational outreach for SNOW FALLING ON CEDARS, topics will include intolerance, exclusion, and community. Participants will then have the chance to record their answers and reflections, becoming part of an ongoing conversation. Audio clips will be archived at the Bainbridge Island Historical Museum. WWII Era Press Coverage Compare & Contrast Explore the Bainbridge Review’s searchable “Open Archives” online at www.krl.org and attend “Our Japanese to Enemy Aliens: Incarceration and the Role of the Local Press” on March 10. Then compare and contrast local vs. regional news coverage as it pertains to the Japanese American exclusion experience. The Exclusion Tag Project Friends of Minidoka Our generous sponsor for SNOW FALLING ON CEDARS is The Maggi Rogers Fund. SNOW FALLING ON CEDARS is supported in part by a grant from the Washington State Arts Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts. BPA's outreach programs for SNOW FALLING ON CEDARS are supported in part by a grant from Humanities Washington, a state-wide non-profit organization supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the State of Washington, and contributions from individuals and foundations. Additional supporters / collaborators include Bainbridge Island Arts & Humanities Council, Bainbridge Island Historical Museum, Bainbridge Island Japanese American Community, Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial Association, Bainbridge Island School District, Bainbridge Island Waterfront Park Community Center, Eagle Harbor Book Co., EduCulture and the Only What We Can Carry program, Friends of Minidoka, Island Theatre, IslandWood and the National Geographic Education Foundation, Kitsap Regional Library, National Park Service, and the Seattle Opera. As part of the community conversation surrounding Bainbridge Performing Arts’ production of SNOW FALLING ON CEDARS, you’re invited to share how the experience of exclusion relates to your own life by recording your answers on tags that are very similar to those that were issued to Japanese Americans during the Japanese American exclusion experience. Completed tags with your recorded comments will be displayed in the BPA lobby throughout the run of the performance of SNOW FALLING ON CEDARS. They will subsequently be archived at the Bainbridge Island Historical Museum as the “2015 Exclusion Tag Community Project.” Exclusion Commemoration A special commemoration will be held at the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Memorial on March 30 to observe the anniversary of the first day of the Japanese American exclusion experience. The 75th anniversary is in 2017.