It's World War II and eight-year-old Mari, along with 120,000 innocent Americans, is deprived of her rights, possessions, and freedom by the United States government. Under such staggering circumstances, how does a child cope?

A Place Where Sunflowers Grow is the only children's book about the incarceration in a bilingual English and Japanese format. Lee-Tai's gentle prose and Hoshino's stunning illustrations make this the perfect book for any age. Book signing to follow.

This program is made possible by a grant from the California Civil Liberties Public Education Program.

This book is available for sale through the Museum Store Online. You can also order by phone at 888.769.5559.

Instructor Chester Hashizume leads a comprehensive workshop covering genealogy basics such as getting started, identifying your ancestral Japanese home town, obtaining and utilizing family documents, and determining the meaning behind surnames and family crests--all the tools you need to discover your roots. This intensive session includes a one-hour break. $45 for National Museum members and $55 for non-members, includes materials and Museum admission.

Made possible, in part, by the Department of Cultural Affairs, City of Los Angeles.

Gardens were among the first forms of Japanese culture to gain popularity in the United States. Since their introduction to the American public at the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, Japanese-style gardens have proliferated across the country.

Landscaping America reveals the personal stories, historical journeys, communities, and creativity that underlie the surface of the "Japanese garden." This multimedia exhibition highlights how West Coast Japanese Americans drew upon their agricultural and ethnic backgrounds to carve out a viable vocational niche in gardening while reinterpreting Japanese garden traditions, offering alternative approaches to working with nature, and contributing to the diversity of the American landscape.

Landscaping America: Beyond the Japanese Garden is made possible, in part, by major support from the Aratani Foundation and the Annenberg Foundation. Generous support was also provided by The James Irvine Foundation, the National Endowment of the Humanities, and The Boeing Company.

Media Sponsors: Los Angeles Downtown News, LA18 KSCI-TV and The Rafu Shimpo.

Celebrate Father's Day at the exhibition opening of Landscaping America: Beyond the Japanese Garden

Join us for a relaxing afternoon
BBQ PARTY ON THE PLAZA
-Live Entertainment by Gary Fukushima Jazz Quartet
-Food Vendors
-Members-only Raffle Drawing (winners must be present)
-Exhibition Activities-Terrace Garden display, Guide-by-Cell audio tour, in-gallery activity, and screening of Mamo's Weeds (exclusive film short by the National Museum's Frank H. Watase Media Arts Center)

FREE admission for National Museum members. Museum exhibitions and Museum Store open from 11:00 AM-5:00 PM. For information call 213.625.0414.

Relive history and learn about present-day Little Tokyo with National Museum docents on this historic walking tour. $8 for National Museum members and $13 for non-members, includes Museum admission. Reservations along with comfortable walking shoes and clothes are recommended. Weather permitting.

Be prepared for birthdays, holidays, and "just because" occasions by creating whimsical pop-up cards for that special family member or friend. $8 for National Museum members and $13 for non-members, includes supplies and Museum admission. Reservations recommended.

Made possible, in part, by the Department of Cultural Affairs, City of Los Angeles.

To mark the opening of Landscaping America: Beyond the Japanese Garden, this program explores the poetry of Japanese gardeners. Author and Edgar Award-winner Naomi Hirahara and Sunny Seki, director of the Rashin Senryu and author of The Tale of the Lucky Cat discuss the creative parallel between beautifully crafted senryus and Japanese gardens. Poetry readings by retired gardener and director of the Pioneer Senryu group, Shotaro Dofuku, will be accompanied by a presentation of photographs by Japanese gardeners from the National Museum's collection.

Presented in collaboration with the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center
Plaza, Japanese American Cultural and Community Center*
244 South San Pedro Street (between 2nd & 3rd Streets)
Los Angeles (Little Tokyo), CA 90012
Information: 213.680.3700

Enzo Avitabile is the spirit of Italian soul. For more than twenty years, the Naples-born saxophonist and flutist has been a star on the Italian jazz scene, performing with everyone from James Brown to Hugh Masekela. A master musician and keen observer, in 2001, he heard the music of Bottari from southern Italy's Campania Region. To call Bottari unique is an understatement in the extreme. Playing the centuries old traditional rhythms of pastellesas and tarantellas, their infectious sound is produced from striking barrels and vats and hitting scythes with steel sticks. Led by Pasquale Romano, Bottari found a kindred spirit in Avitabile and soon they were exploring the possibilities of a partnership that would respect traditional Italian music even as they sought to innovate it. The result is a body of original songs written in a Neapolitan dialect that connects past to present, giving new life to music from the region. Their music is mesmerizing, fresh, and unmistakable. For their debut West Coast performance, Avitabile will be joined by 17 members of Bottari.

*Note time and venue change for this concert only.

2007 1st & Central Summer Concerts schedule
June 28 - Prelude: Enzo Avitabile and Bottari
July 12 - Southern California Ukelele Showcase
July 26 - San Jose Taiko
August 2 - Ricardo Lemvo and Makina Loca
August 9 - For Alice with Love: Celebrating the Music of Alice Coltrane
September 13 - Celso Duarte and Sonex

The National Museum will host a mini festival of films funded by CCLPEP. Titles include From a Silk Cocoon, 9066 to 9/11, and Stand Up for Justice, among others.

This program is made possible by the generous support of the California Civil Liberties Public Education Program.