President's Report
by Cecily Chang
Summer began right after our annual Ikebana
Spring Show in May. Our new dark blue tablecloths looked wonderful in the
Oakridge Mall Auditorium. The Japanese Consul General, Mr Seiichi Otsuka
opened the show. We were delighted to have Mrs. Ikenobo, wife of the head
master, grace us with her presence. I believe all participants thoroughly
enjoyed the event.
Over the summer, we took part in the Cherry
Blossom Festival, the Powell Street Festival celebrating Japanese culture, and
the “Art on the Street” Festival on Granville Island for B.C.’s 150th
birthday.
On August 27th and 28th Mr. Koji Furukawa,
visiting Professor from Kyoto, led a very successful 2-day workshop for the
Ikenobo School. Innovations and new experiences are quite exciting. I hope
these kinds of activities enhance our enthusiasm for Ikebana.
VIA IMPORTANT MESSAGE
Even
though we have been busy participating in all kinds of festivals and shows,
there has been some internal modifications to the infrastructure of our
association. In order to make our General Meeting more effective, functional
and to attract more members to participate, please note the following changes:
General
Meeting on Sept. 27, 2008 at Nikkei
Center is cancelled. The Executives have discussed all the details of upcoming
events during last Executive Meeting on Sept. 12, 2008.
Since we would like a higher attendance, we
have reduced the number of meetings. So in the next year (2009), there will be
only one Annual General Meeting (AGM), three business meetings (previously
called the Exective Meeting), and a Christmas gathering.
AGM
– Mar. 14, 2009 at Nikkei Center, Kaede Room, 1:30 pm – 4:30 pm.
Business Meetings
– Feb. 21, May 30, and Sept. 19, 2009 at Cecily’s house. Time : 1:30 pm to
3:30 pm. Executive members and any others, welcome.
Christmas Party
for 2008 will be Monday, Nov. 24 at Hi Genki Restaurant by the Nikkei Center
at 6:30 p.m. Please let your contact person know if you will be attending, by
November 15th.
Books about Ikebana in our library
are for your use. Please contact
Linda Achiam of Sogetsu School. They will be available at all meetings.
White table cloths
are available in the storage. If you would like to borrow any, please contact
Cecily or Joan. Kindly clean and return it afterwards.
Both AGM and Business
Meetings are open to all members. We would like to invite a guest speaker,
such as a tree expert, a garden lover, etc., to share at AGM. Our meeting will
be more interesting this way. Each member can also benefit from the session as
we hope that more people will join us for the meetings. We need your input,
feedback, and most importantly, your support and participation. Please contact
your head teacher with any suggestions before the Christmas Party. Thank you.
Cecily Chang
UPCOMING EVENTS
Sept.
13th & 14th – Early Mum Show at the Floral Hall in Van Dusen Garden.
Marie
Ogryzlo of Sogetsu School will be the show chair for both the early and late
mum shows. We thank Point Grey Chrysanthemum Association for their generous
donation of various species of chrysanthemums. Each school is expected to have
at least two arrangements.
Sept.
27th – General Meeting at Nikkei Center CANCELLED!
October
11th to 13th – Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Show (Thanksgiving).
Start
designing, everyone!! We are on the agenda as always for the Thanksgiving
weekend for exhibiting at the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden. Set-up
will be on October 10th and take down after 4 pm October 13th or early Oct
14th morning.
November
8th & 9th – Late Mum Show at the Floral Hall in Van Dusen Garden.
November
24th – Christmas Dinner At Hi Genki (Nikkei Home on
Southoaks), Burnaby. 6:30 pm. Everyone welcome!
We take part in these events in the hopes
that they will benefit not only the schools involved, but the public in
general. Thank you for your continuing support.
Currently we are seeking two members to join
our Executive Team to take over Secretary (Andreea Beutel) and Finance (Jean
Minamimae) because they have already devoted their time for more than one term
and would like to give other people the opportunity to help out. Please
contact your school head teacher or Cecily if you are interested.
When we were at Granville Island, people asked
us what Ikebana is. With a simple explanation, we inspired people to enjoy and
appreciate Ikebana and made Ikebana more accessible to the public. Now, as we
are looking forward to the atmosphere of autumn and winter while summer has
fled silently away, the sensitivity to the beauty of flowers and the
wilderness must still be maintained for as long as we are doing Ikebana.
VANCOUVER CHERRY BLOSSOM
FESTIVAL
By Judie Glick
In March VIA participated again in the
Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival with demonstrations at the Seasons in the
Park Bistro in Queen Elizabeth Park. Participants included, Kaz Takahashi and
Barbara James from Kado-Sumi, Inga Uhlemann from Ikenobo, Jean Minamimaye from
Sogetsu, Joan Fairs from Sangetsu, and Mariko Inoue from Ohara. Each school
presented two arrangements featuring cherry blossoms. Pacifi-kana
followed our session with a haiku walk, or ginko, in the QE Park.
During the session, Vicki McCullough and Alice
Frampton of Pacifi-kana were inspired to write a few senryu (a poetry form
related to haiku but which is more humorous and focused on social comment,
etc.) Vicki writes, "Perhaps your Ikebana associates will find them amusing".
ikebana class----
my neighbor doesn't know
he donates blossoms
(Alice)
frogs
shaped like cherry blossoms?
----ikebana
(Vicki)
her ikebana lines
rigid and skewed---
take care, husband!
(Vicki)
POWELL STREET FESTIVAL
By Martha Banno
There
were three Ikebana Schools who participated in the Powell Street Festival,
i.e., Kado-Sumi, Sangetsu and Ikenobo. Each school provided two to three
arrangements. We wish to thank the Vancouver Buddhist Temple for providing the
four tables, which they covered with white paper. This year, Ikegomi was
allowed after 2:00 pm on Friday, which we appreciated. We were blessed by good
weather, which brought a good turnout.
A THANK YOU LETTER
Dear Friends,
On behalf of the
Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival, I would like to thank you for all of your
contribution and efforts in helping us make Cherry Blossom Zen a truly special
day. Your hard work has helped us produce an extraordinary day where the
community can expand their knowledge in new cultures while appreciating the
natural beauty our city has to offer.
A special thanks from
Linda, who recognizes all the hard work you have done in making our festival
an important and special part of our community. We owe our festival's success
to your efforts and contribution.
We are definitely
looking forward to working with you in future events. Once again, thank you
for all your support!
Warm regards,
Mark Kusumajuda
LOST AND FOUND NOTICE
Lost: a set of five Japanese tea cups last seen at the Spring Show. If anyone
knows of their whereabouts, please contact Cecily at: 604.525.6952.
ART ON THE STREET, GRANVILLE
ISLAND
By Judie Glick
On August 4th, the Vancouver Ikebana
Association took part in B.C.’s 150th birthday celebration on Granville
Island. Cecily Chang, Joan Fairs and Judie Glick displayed arrangements on the
patio of the Granville Island Hotel.
The exhibit was outside with water and
skyline views. We all worried about the effects of the bright sun and the wind
on the arrangements, but in the end we learned from nature and enjoyed the
changing light of a lovely day. of the bright sun and the wind on the
arrangements, but in the end we learned from nature and enjoyed the changing
light of a lovely day.
Granville Island display by Cecily
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