SeattleJapanRelief.org coalition to hold community event to remember Japan tsunami disaster and promote preparedness

SeattleJapanRelief.org and the Consulate General of Japan in Seattle will hold a special community event on Sunday, March 11, 2012 from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the Seattle Center’s Kobe Bell and north lawn area by the Seattle Fountain and the Fisher Pavilion. The event, held on the one-year anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake will focus on three themes: remembrance, preparedness and rebuilding.

The program will begin with a short opening ceremony at the Fisher Pavilion at 10:00 a.m., and will feature musical performances by singer Fumi Tagata and koto ensemble Silk Strings.
From 10:40 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Fisher Pavilion, there will be exhibits and presentations by local and national emergency management authorities and non-profit preparedness groups about both work in Japan following last year’s disaster, and also how to be more prepared for a major natural disaster in the Pacific Northwest. Attendees can also learn about ways to continue to support Japan as it recovers. The Consulate-General of Japan will be showing the film, Ganbappe Hula Girls! From 12:00 p.m., a film on the disaster, recovery and rebuilding process in Japan, and will have an exhibition of photographs and messages from children from the Tohoku Area.

The event will close with a memorial ceremony held at the Kobe Bell, where the victims of The Great East Japan Earthquake will be remembered. Following remarks by elected officials, and a short Buddhist ceremony honoring the victims, the public will have an opportunity to ring the Kobe Bell. A moment of silence will be observed at 2:46 p.m., which corresponds to the time of the disaster in Japan on March 11th.

The Kobe Bell is a gift from Seattle's oldest sister city of Kobe, Japan, given in 1962 in honor of the World's Fair. The Kobe Bell has been a gathering place for Seattleites to remember the Kobe earthquake disaster of 1995 for the past seventeen years.

SeattleJapanRelief.org began as a collaboration of Japanese American and Japan related groups that has grown into a diverse ranges of businesses, organizations and community groups standing together to promote relief and recovery following the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Coalition groups have collectively raised over $250,000 dollars and donated those funds through our charity partners.

Confirmed exhibitors at this March 11th event include: The Consulate General of Japan, Peace Winds America, the American Red Cross, the YMCA of Greater Seattle, and the City of Seattle Office of Emergency Management.

For more information or to get involved, visit www.seattlejapanrelief.org or contact seattlejapanrelief@hyogobcc.org

For a list of the coalition members of SeattleJapanRelief, visit http://seattlejapanrelief.org/coalition.

This event is generously sponsored by Seattle Center.

Map of the Seattle Center Grounds: http://www.seattlecenter.com/information/map.asp