Clark College Sakura Festival will celebrate peace

An assortment of musical performances will honor the historic ties of friendship between the sister-cities of Vancouver and Joyo, Japan.

The Clark College Sakura Festival will be held Thursday, April 13, at 1 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

It will include the unveiling of a “peace pole” near the Frost Arts Building on the college’s main campus, 1933 Fort Vancouver Way. The pole, sponsored by Vancouver Rotary, will bear the message “May Peace Prevail on Earth” in six languages.

The unveiling will be followed by opening remarks near the Royce E. Pollard Japanese Friendship Garden, located next to the Beacock Music Hall. In the event of inclement weather, the ceremony will be held in the Gaiser Student Center. Dignitaries who are scheduled to speak include Vancouver Mayor Pro Tem Anne McEnerny-Ogle; John Kageyama, president of America Kotobuki Electronics; Kojiro Uchiyama, Portland Consul General; and Clark College Japanese scholarship recipient Honoka Ito.

Yukiko Vossen will play a koto, a stringed musical instrument, and there will be a performance by the Clark College Women’s Choral Ensemble.

The garden, a gift from Dr. Chihiro Kanagawa, chief executive officer of Shin-Etsu Chemical Company, was dedicated in 2012. It includes a granite water feature, an infinity circle sitting area and cut and polished benches.

The garden is located near 100 Shirofugen cherry trees, which were given to Vancouver in honor of the 100th anniversary of Washington’s statehood in 1990.

The Sakura celebration will continue from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m., in the Gaiser Student Center. There will be dance performances by the Clark College Japanese Cultural Club and the Japanese dance ensemble Dance Leo.

Children in the college’s Child & Family Studies program will provide a greeting, and there will be a performance by the Takohachi Drum Group. Cookies and tea will be served.

The Sakura Festival is sponsored by Clark College, the City of Vancouver and Vancouver Rotary.

Additional information is available at www.clark.edu/cc/sakura.