“Cherry blossoms are very popular during the Spring season and adorn some important spaces in the US, like Washington, D.C. In Japan, cherry blossoms are part of their culture and art. In this class, you will decorate a branch with colorful pink cherry blossoms made from crepe paper, and we will learn about Japanese culture and cherry blossom flowers.
Instructor
Sandy Villegas
Born in Puebla, Mexico, Sandy has always loved art making drawings and doodling when she got the chance. Her family moved to Sonora, Mexico and after a couple years she decided to come to the United States. She married a military man and while raising two children received an Associate Degree in Digital Arts. Some time passes before her daughter, Brittany, found an art project making paper flowers. Soon Sandy found herself making flowers and a business was born.”
March 29 from 2 to 4 p.m. at Galeria Mitotera, 1802 S. 4th Avenue, Tucson
“Bring your worn or torn favorites and learn the art of visible mending (sashiko stitching) in a relaxed, community centered workshop. Got some jeans all rasgados? Una camisa with holes? Tráetela.
We’ll patch, reinforce, and reimagine our clothing by adding beauty, intention, and new life to the pieces we love.
✨ All materials provided ✨ Just bring your item (non-stretch fabrics like denim, cotton, or linen work best!)
Led by the amazing Cari Roberts @the.stitch.sitch.”
“Hello all! I am putting on a concert at the Century Room on March 22nd, at 4:30pm. This is an extremely personal project of mine, and serves as fundraising kickoff for an album I will record in May. I would love to see you there.
This project brings to life the folk compositions of my grandmother, Yoko Ono. These songs are rooted in peace, life, and intergenerational connection. Originally written in Japanese, these works have been carefully transcribed and reimagined for a contemporary ten-piece chamber jazz ensemble.
The music preserves the original melodies and language while expanding the harmonic and textural landscape through modern jazz orchestration inspired by the likes of Maurice Ravel, Ambrose Akinmusire, and Mei Semones. Strings, woodwinds, pedal steel, piano, upright bass, drums, vocals, and guitar create a spacious, lyrical, and deeply personal sound.
This evening at The Century Room serves a dual purpose.
First, it is a live presentation of the music as it will be recorded this May at EastWest Studios.
This world-renowned studio has produced the likes of California Dreamin’ by the Mamas and the Papas, Pet Sounds by The Beach Boys, My Way by Frank Sinatra, and many more. The chance to record here is an invaluable opportunity to capture the performance at its highest fidelity and to put Tucson-based artists in a position to produce nationally competitive work.
Second, it is a fundraising event.
The funds raised tonight will directly support the recording, mixing, artist compensation, and production of the album Kazoku. Your artistic patronage transforms these songs from family memory into a lasting cultural document, funding the professional stewardship of the music.
The performance will be 60-75 minutes and include a spoken narrative about Yoko Ono’s compositions.
All contributors will receive a signed vinyl and a Kazoku T-Shirt upon completion of recording and pressing. All attendees are invited to a champagne toast during the performance.
We have already secured $4,000 toward our goal, but we need your help to reach $15,000. Additionally, if we exceed our $15,000 goal, any surplus funds will be directed toward establishing a permanent live stream system at The Century Room to support Tucson jazz in the long term.
We are grateful for your participation in bringing Kazoku to life.” Kenji Ono Lancaster
This is our 10th SAJCC sponsored Japanese Festival in Tucson, scheduled for Saturday March 21 at the Tucson Chinese Cultural Center, 1288 W. River Rd.
It’s not an annual event since we started up in January 2014 as a Mochitsuki ( New Year’s rice pounding event) at Yume Japanese Gardens and expanded to a Tucson Japanese Festival in 2016 once we moved to PCC Downtown. It has been a successful festival for 9 years, except for the Covid pandemic hiatus in 2021, 2022 and 2023. In 2024 the SAJCC Council moved the festival to March to make it a spring event, still with mochi pounding. We will now be at the lovely Tucson Chinese Cultural Center for our fifth year.
NEW: Look forward to taiko drumming by Odaiko Sonora (with special guest performers Haruki Saito from Sado Island, Japan and founder/taiko drummer Kay Fukumoto from Maui Taiko) this year. Haruki is an ondeko — Shinto deity mask dancer. Photos below courtesy of Odaiko Sonora.
Haruki Saito, ondeko dancer from Sado Island, JapanHaruki performing in Italy, courtesy of Odaiko Sonora Kay Fukumoto, founder/drummer of Maui Taiko
Also shakuhachi flute & tradtional dance performances, origami paper folding, ikebana flower arrangements, tea ceremonies, Japanese children & adult games and crafts, and of course delicious takoyaki balls and other Asian delights to enjoy. Extended hours like last year, now 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. with onsite parking.
Still only $5 adults, free for children 5 and under. Cash preferred, no presale tickets.
Five Japanese American women authors will be presenting their literary knowledge and recent books at the upcoming Tucson Festival of Books, once again at the University of Arizona mall on March 14 and 15.
Molly Hashimoto (nature artist/nonfiction)
“Molly Hashimoto teaches and leads plein air watercolor painting and printmaking workshops around the West, including at the North Cascades Institute, Yosemite Conservancy, Winslow Art Center, and Sitka Center for Art and Ecology. The author of five books including “Trees of the West,” “Birds of the West,” and most recently, “Wildflowers of the West,” she lives in Seattle. Her art has been published by Pomegranate Communications since 1985.”
Molly Hashimoto
Naomi Hirahara (mystery/historical drama)
“Naomi Hirahara is an Edgar Award winning author of multiple traditional mystery series and noir short stories. Her Mas Arai mysteries feature a Los Angeles gardener and Hiroshima survivor who solves crimes. Her first historical mystery, “Clark and Division,” which won a Mary Higgins Clark Award, follows a Japanese American family’s move to Chicago in 1944. She has also written a middle grade novel “1001 Cranes.” Her latest Japantown Mystery, “Crown City,” is set in 1903 Pasadena, California.”
Editor’s note: I’ve personally met Naomi over the years here at the TFB and enjoy her mystery books and books based on the WWII Japanese American internment.
Naomi HIrahara
Emiko Jean (adult/young adult fiction)
“Emiko Jean is a bestselling author of adult fiction, including “The Return of Ellie Black,” and young adult fiction, with newly released “Love Me Tomorrow” and “Tokyo Ever After.” Her books have been published in over 30 languages. She has been featured on Good Morning America as a GMA Book Club pick, by Reese Witherspoon as a young adult book club pick and in publications such as Marie Claire, Entertainment Weekly, Time, Cosmopolitan, Shondaland and Bustle. She lives in Washington state with her husband and two kids.”
Emiko Jean
Julie Kagawa (children’s books)
“Julie Kagawa is The New York Times bestselling author of “The Iron Fey,” “Blood of Eden,” “Talon,” “Shadow of the Fox,” and the Storm Dragons series. Born in Sacramento and raised in Hawaii, she grew up surrounded by ocean adventures, geckos and the occasional hurricane. Before becoming a full-time writer, she worked as a professional dog trainer. Julie now lives in Kentucky with her husband and two energetic Australian shepherds.”
Julie Kagawa
Sophia Terazawa (poetry/fiction)
“Sophia Terazawa is the author of three poetry collections, “Winter Phoenix,” “Anon,” and the forthcoming “Oracular Maladies,” a finalist for the 2023 Noemi Press Book Award. She has also published two chapbooks, “I Am Not a War” and “Correspondent Medley,” winner of the 2018 Tomaž Šalamun Prize. “Tetra Nova” is her first novel.”
Sophiz Terazawa
Enjoy these authors. More info about the panels they will be participating in and their books are at Featured Authors link on the TFB website: https://tucsonfestivalofbooks.org/?id=67
New this year – clear plastic bags required for author events, for added security. Bags will be free & available at several booths or at UA Campus Store (with purchase).
