05/16/11

Story by Peggy Graham

Japan Relief Event

Japan Relief Event at JCCC June 18

Aya Uchida

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — A Japan Relief Event to help those affected by the earthquake and resulting tsunami in Japan is scheduled from 2-4 p.m. Saturday, June 18, in Yardley Hall of the Carlsen Center at Johnson County Community College.  Entertainers are from the local area and Japan. Cost is free, but a $10 donation is suggested.

Performers include:

• Japanese pop singer Aya Uchida, who will come from Japan for this concert
• Buyo dancer Yoshiko Yamanaka
• The Kansas City Symphony String Ensemble —Tamamo Someya Gibbs, Mark Gibbs, Tomoko Iguchi and Eri Kosaka
• The University of Missouri-Kansas City jazz band Ensemble, directed by saxophonist Bobby Watson, which performed in Kurashiki, Japan, a sister city of Kansas City, Mo., in October 2010
• Ki-Daiko/Three Trails Taiko — a combination of high school and adult taiko groups, both from Olathe

Japan was hit by one of the largest earthquakes ever recorded on March 11, spawning a deadly tsunami that slammed into the small island nation. Thousands of people are dead and many more are still missing or injured; almost half a million people are homeless.

The Japan Relief Event is sponsored by the Heart of America Japan-America Society, the Japan Club of Greater Kansas City and the JCCC International Club. For more information, contact the JCCC international education office at 913-469-3496.

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