JANM SETS DATE AND THEME FOR 2015 ANNUAL GALA DINNER

The Japanese American National Museum will hold its annual Gala Dinner, Silent Auction, and After Party on May 2, 2015, at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel and X Bar in Los Angeles. The evening’s theme will be To Boldly Go: Sharing Our Story Across the Generations; actor and activist George Takei will be honored with JANM’s Distinguished Medal of Honor for Lifetime Achievement and Public Service.

To Boldly Go: Sharing Our Story Across the Generations evokes the visionary course that JANM has charted for over 30 years in sharing the Japanese American experience to enlighten people of all backgrounds about democracy, civil liberties, and social justice. The theme will be illustrated in several aspects of the evening, including performances, remarks from key individuals connected to the museum, and video content.

Takei was among the over 120,000 Japanese Americans forcibly incarcerated after the bombing of Pearl Harbor during World War II. But after a childhood spent in American concentration camps, Takei went on to a groundbreaking acting role as Sulu on the Star Trek television series. He has since continued to serve as a beloved pop culture icon and evolve into a respected civil rights activist. Takei’s selection for JANM’s Medal of Honor is in recognition of his decades-long standing as an inspirational role model as well as his commitment to JANM itself.

Takei is only the fifth individual to receive JANM’s Medal of Honor. Prior recipients are the late Senator Spark Matsunaga (posthumously, 1991); the late Senator Daniel Inouye (1994); Akio Morita, the co- founder of Sony Corporation (1996); and the Honorable Norman Mineta (2012).

Frank Buckley, co-anchor of KTLA’s Emmy Award-winning Morning News, will act as the Gala Dinner’s master of ceremonies. The evening will include JANM’s popular Lexus Opportunity Drawing, for which a new 2015 Lexus NX 200t F SPORT vehicle will be the prize. Opportunity Drawing tickets are $25 each, $100 for five tickets, and $500 for thirty tickets. They may be requested by calling 213.830.5669 or sending an email to galadinner@janm.org.

Sponsors already committed for the 2015 Gala Dinner are:

Presenting Sponsors
Nitto Tire U.S.A. Inc.
Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.

Emerald Sponsors
Nikki Kodama and Family

Platinum Sponsors
Carelife Home Care
Ken and Jo Ann Hamamura
The Takei Family

Additional sponsorship and underwriting opportunities are available. Visit janm.org/dinner2015 for details. Individual tickets for the event will go on sale in March.

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 6 of its exhibitions to over 30 locations, 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.