CELEBRATE VALENTINE’S DAY WITH HELLO KITTY AT JANM’S NEXT TARGET FREE FAMILY SATURDAY

The Japanese American National Museum (JANM) will continue its popular Target Free Family Saturdays series on February 14, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission to the museum is free all day, giving families the opportunity to participate in a variety of activities as well as view its ongoing core exhibition Common Ground: The Heart of Community. Highlights of the day will include a visit from Hello Kitty and a performance by up-and-coming Los Angeles band Candyboy.

The complete event schedule for February 14 follows.

All-Day Activities:

• Kids can play at a deluxe Hello Kitty bounce house, which features a slide, climbing wall, and basketball hoop.


• Several different Hello Kitty temporary tattoo designs will be available.


• At Ruthie’s Origami Corner, a staple of JANM’s Target Free Family Saturdays, Ruthie will teach visitors how to make an origami apple in honor of Hello Kitty, who is the height of five apples and the weight of three.


• Hello Kitty has a friendship message for everyone. They will be distributed at the omikuji (Japanese-style fortune telling) table.


• At the craft table, visitors can create a special Valentine’s Day card with a marshmallow candy surprise inside for someone special.

Scheduled activities:

• 12–2 p.m.: Cotton Candy Girls will serve free cotton candy.


• 1–4 p.m.: Hello Kitty will be onsite for hugs, photos, and friendship greetings.


• 2 p.m.: Los Angeles band Candyboy will present an upbeat and family-friendly pop music performance.

Free admission does not include the special exhibition Hello! Exploring the Supercute World of Hello Kitty. All Hello! admissions are based on timed entry; advance purchase is strongly recommended.

For more details about the February 14 Target Free Family Saturday, visit janm.org/target.

NOW ON VIEW AT JANM:

Common Ground: The Heart of Community
Ongoing
Incorporating hundreds of objects, documents, and photographs collected by JANM, this exhibition chronicles 130 years of Japanese American history, from the early days of the Issei pioneers through the World War II incarceration to the present.

Hello! Exploring the Supercute World of Hello Kitty
Through April 26, 2015
Organized as part of the global icon’s 40th-anniversary celebrations, Hello! examines the colorful history of Hello Kitty and her influence on popular culture. The exhibition includes an extensive product survey, with rare and unique items from the Sanrio archives, alongside a selection of innovative contemporary artworks inspired by Hello Kitty and her world. Hello! is a specially ticketed exhibition.

About the Japanese American National Museum (JANM)

Established in 1985, the Japanese American National Museum promotes understanding and appreciation of America’s ethnic and cultural diversity by sharing the Japanese American experience. Located in the historic Little Tokyo district of downtown Los Angeles, JANM is a hybrid institution that straddles traditional museum categories and strives to provide a voice for Japanese Americans as well as a forum that enables all people to explore their own heritage and culture. Since opening to the public, JANM has presented over 70 exhibitions onsite and traveled 16 of its exhibitions to locations around the world, including the Smithsonian Institution and the Ellis Island Museum in the United States, and several leading cultural museums in Japan and South America.

JANM is located at 100 N. Central Ave., Los Angeles. Museum hours are Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Thursday from noon to 8 p.m. General admission is $9 adults, $5 students and seniors, free for members and children under age five. Admission is free to everyone on Thursdays from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. and every third Thursday of the month from noon to 8 p.m. General admission prices and free admission times may not apply to specially ticketed exhibitions. Closed Monday, 4th of July, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day. For more information visit janm.org or call 213.625.0414.