We've got a new look . . .

We've got a new look to the Minidoka Swing Band blog page.  Hope it makes it easier for you to read and follow our activities!  . . . Laura

Holiday Lunch and Craft Fair, featuring the Minidoka Swing Band

Sunday, December 4, 2011

at the Multnomah Athletic Club, 1849 SW Salmon St., Portland, OR  97205

Cost: $40 per person, or $15 for the craft fair and Minidoka Swing Band performance alone (does not include lunch)

Join Oregon Nikkei Endowment for a fun afternoon of food, crafts and music at the Multnomah Athletic Club on Sunday, December 4, beginning at 11:30 a.m.

Enjoy lunch with friends and dance to the tunes of the Minidoka Swing Band as they perform their new Christmas-themed set. This fundraiser will also feature local artisans whose crafts will be available to purchase for your Christmas shopping list.

More details will be available in the coming weeks. Contact Oregon Nikkei Endowment at             503-224-1458       for more information.

National Museum Day

We had a great day at the Washington County Museum playing for the free National Museum Day.  Great weather with a great turn out.  Couldn't have asked for better weather for an outdoor concert!  Click on this site for an article about the band from the Hillsboro Argus and Oregonlive.com - http://www.oregonlive.com/argus/index.ssf/2011/09/museum_free_day_features_minid.html

Free Museum Day and Live Swing Band Music!

Saturday, Sept. 24th is coming.  Join us at the Washington County Museum on the PCC Rock Creek Campus for free music and free museum admission.  Bring your picnic lunch, a lawn chair and enjoy the beautiful Fall weather at an outdoor concert.  Soft drinks and water will be available for purchase as a Minidoka Swing Band fundraiser to help purchase new music!  View the web site for more details:  www.washingtoncountymuseum.com.  See you there!

Map to Washington County Museum

Click on Map for directions to the Washington County Museum MAP  See you on the 24th!

Minidoka Swing Band: Free Museum Day featuring the Minidoka Swing Band

Minidoka Swing Band: Free Museum Day featuring the Minidoka Swing Band

Location:

Washington County Museum

17677 NW Springville Rd

Portland, OR 97229

503-645-5353

12 noon to 2:30 PM

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.

Two new performances coming . . .

Check back for more details, but here is a quick note:  The Minidoka Swing Band will be performing at the Oregon International Air Show, www.oregonairshow.com, on Saturday, August 20, 2011 from 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM and the band is also scheduled to play at the Washington County Museum on the PCC-Rock Creek Campus. Portland, OR on Saturday, September 24, 2011.  Time TBD.

Emmy Award Nomination-How cool is that?

A story about the Minidoka Swing Band and Internment has been nominated for an Emmy Award.  Saint Bryan from KING TV-5, Evening Magazine came down to Portland last year and filmed the band and wrote a story and then integrated it into a story about Japanese American Internment.  It was a great story and now it has been nominated for an Emmy.  Our founder and creator, the late Robbie Tsuboi would be so proud. And today is Robbie's birthday!  Click on the Title to see a link of the story from May 8, 2010.  What an honor.  Here is the message from Saint - "Our KING 5 story on The Minidoka Swing Band has earned an Emmy nomination. Award ceremony is in mid June. Long ago we've learned great stories tell themselves and that we should just stay out of the way. So any congratulations go to you."

Robbie Remembrance; 1 year later

Robbie Remembrance: 1 year later- This May will mark the first year of the loss of a mentor, visionary, leader, and great friend to all, Robbie Tsuboi. In tribute to all Robbie has done for us the Minidoka Swing Band, Hula Pa Makani Kolonahe, Friends of Goose Hollow (Goosers), and Unite People will be having a memorial celebration on Sunday, May 15 at Epworth Methodist Church, 1333 SE 27th Ave. The event will be about Robbie’s two favorite tenets, food and fun. The event will begin with a potluck lunch (main dish will be provided, side dishes are welcome) at 11:30 am and followed by a program in the sanctuary at 1:30 pm. We invite all those in the community to come and remember Robbie and let us thank you for sharing her with us.

The Minidoka Swing Band

Ka Pa Hula Makani Kolonahe

Goosers

Unite People