Free Museum Day featuring the Minidoka Swing Band

PORTLAND, Ore. – The Minidoka Swing Band performs Sat., September 24, at the Washington

County Museum in celebration of National Museum Day, hosted by the Smithsonian magazine.

The Washington County Museum is a participating museum with free admission all day, from 10

a.m. to 4 p.m.

Bring the family and a picnic lunch to the Museum that day and take in the toe-tapping music of

the Minidoka Swing Band, view the current exhibits, see a Japanese woodblock printing

demonstration and enjoy the grounds – all for free. The Museum is located on the PCC-Rock

Creek Campus, 17677 NW Springville Road.

The locally-based swing band, established in September 2007, plays from noon to 2:30 p.m. The

band’s swing tunes serve as a tribute to the Japanese Americans interned during World War II

and highlights the music that was popular in 1940s America – and in the internment camps.

Led by Music Director and Conductor Larry Nobori, the band’s members range in age from 13 to

84 years old. Nobori also plays lead alto sax and clarinet. The Minidoka Swing Band, named after

the Minidoka Internment Camp in Idaho, has been featured in a variety of media, including the

Wall Street Journal and in an Emmy-nominated story produced by KING TV-Channel 5 in

Seattle.

Two exhibits will be on display in the Museum gallery: Taken: FBI is a traveling exhibit of the Oregon Nikkei Endowment that shares stories, artifacts, diaries and experiences of some Portland-area Japanese Americans who were interned. The traveling version of the exhibit is sponsored in part by the Oregon Heritage Commission, Spirit Mountain Community Fund and Target. The Day We Left is a complimentary exhibit of large-scale paintings by Cedar Mill artist Sharon Inahara, using words as art, to depict the emotions of WWII and the internment experience of Japanese Americans.

About: The Washington County Museum is a cultural leader that serves to preserve our heritage and foster understanding of our shared future. The Museum offers unparalleled opportunities to experience and understand the complexity and richness of Washington County.