Giving back through life-changing experiences. - Updated on 04/19/2024
Giving back through life-changing experiences. - Updated on 04/19/2024
Please see the upcoming Obon dance practice schedule attached. Everyone is welcome! Please invite your friends and family members to practice together. Grace is our Obon dance instructor and she is amazing! Come join us!
Obon Dance Practice Schedule, Saturdays from 10 am - 12 pm:
Practice Location: Las Vegas Buddhist Sangha 4110 N M.L.K. Blvd North Las Vegas, NV 89032
2024 Obon Festival will be held on August 24, 10 am - 4 pm SaturdayLocation: Bill and Lillie Heinrich YMCA, 4141 Meadows Lane (behind the Meadows Mall)
Las Vegas Okinawan Club will host its Andagi Okinawan Donuts fundraiser on May 18, 2023
Save the Date!
More information to come!
Pickup: May 18, 2024 Saturday
Location: Las Vegas Buddhist Sangha
Address: 4110 N M.L.K. Blvd, North Las Vegas, NV 89032
Come and enjoy Okinawan donuts, andagi to help fundraiser. Volunteers are welcome! The committee members that plan the event each year are all volunteers, as are the cooks and booth workers. All proceeds go back to Las Vegas Okinawan Club
35th Obon Festival will be held on Saturday, August 24, 2024
Location: Bill & Lillie Heinrich YMCA
Address: 4141 Meadows Lane 89107
Obon Odori/Dancing
Cultural performances
Raffle drawings
Silent Auctions
Memorial Lanterns
Special thanks to the Las Vegas Okinawan Club ラスベガス沖縄県人会board members and volunteers for a successful annual picnic! Delicious food, music, hula, Sanshin and magic performance, games and good company always make it fun! Great time with friends and new members❣️😊🫶🥳🥰☀️ We had a little over 100 participants this year!
Special thanks to Aunty Cathi of Ninth Island Aunties for donating some raffle prizes and Kumu Charles Herring from Na Hula for your donation to the club!
週末はラスベガス沖縄県人会の春ピクニックでした〜❣️今年も楽しかったです。風が少し強かったけど、美味しいご飯、フラダンス、三線、ゲーム、マジックパフォーマンス、楽しい仲間と過ごせて良い時間をすごせました。100人楽しかったです。
NIAのキャシー南さんからはラッフル券の景品の寄贈、ナフラのチャールズさんから寄付金を頂きました事に感謝の意を申し上げます😊🙏
Las Vegas Okinawan Club is fortunate to receive support from Gene Haas Foundation for two consecutive year. Your donations enable us to organize cultural, social and charitable events, and continue to share our rich Okinawan culture with the Southern Nevada community. Ippe Nifee Deebiru!
Wishing you a year filled with love, health, and happiness. Happy new year and may your dreams turn into reality and your resolutions become achievement and we appreciate your continued support this year! Our members hosted new year's party on February 17, 2024 and celebrated the new yea with 145 members. 明けましておめでとうございます。今年も宜しくお願い致します!
Our community partners, The Promise Las Vegas, The Hope, Na Hula and volunteers got together to provide food distribution, toiletry items, clothes water to help our un-housed community to ensure they receive what they need. Special thanks to Charles Herring of Na Hula for donating food items.
2024 NIA Easter Basket Project (March 16, 2024 Sat)
Special Thanks to our community partners for collaborations, especially our own Okinawan Club member, Cathi Minami of Ninth Island Aunties for putting together this event.
Our community partners, Asian Community Resource Center, Operation: Aloha Action and Ninth Island Aunties collaborated together to put over 100 Easter baskets and food baskets to distribute to low incomes families/children. The Easter food baskets will be distributed to Las Vegas Metro Police Department (Downtown Area Command, WestCare Nevada and 2 Clark County School Distribute classes as well as referrals from our partners.
Special Thanks to our team and partners, Ninth ISland Aunties, Operation: Aloha Action and 2 Scoops of Aloha Las Vegas Drive Inn for your support allowing us to make today happen.
Because of your kindness just over 100 children will receive something special this Easter. A gift made with lots of ALOHA!
2024年NIAイースターバスケットプロジェクト
協力してくれたコミュニティ パートナー、特にこのイベントを企画してくれた沖縄クラブのメンバーである Ninth Island Aunties の Cathi Minami に感謝します。
私たちのコミュニティ パートナーであるアジア コミュニティ リソース センター、オペレーション: アロハ アクション、およびナインス アイランド アンティーズが協力して、100 個を超えるイースター バスケットと食品バスケットを用意し、低所得の家族や子供たちに配布されます。イースターフードバスケットは、ラスベガスメトロ警察署(ダウンタウン地域司令部)ネバダ州ウェストケア、およびクラーク郡学校の2校のクラスの配布、およびパートナーからの紹介)に配布されます。私たちのチームとパートナー、Ninth Island Aunties、Operation: Aloha Action、および 2 Scoops of Aloha Las Vegas Drive Inn のサポートに感謝し、今日の実現を可能にしました。
あなたの親切のおかげで、このイースターには 100 人を超える子供たちが特別なものを受け取ることになります。 ALOHAをたっぷり使ったギフト!
In the wake of the devastating earthquake that struck Japan’s central region, Noto Peninsula of Ishikawa Prefecture on January 1, 2024 (New Year’s Day) followed by a tsunami, Las Vegas Okinawan Club stands unwaveringly and in solidarity with our home country, Japan. We are profoundly saddened to hear of the devastating loss of life, injuries, and damages caused by the series of the earthquakes that have struck Japan.
As of January 8, 2024, a powerful New Year’s Day earthquake/Tsunami struck on the western coast of Japan causing a death toll rising to at least 168 with more than 300 people missing, 500 people injured and more than 28,000 people are continuing to shelter in evacuation centers in Ishikawa Prefecture.
Recognizing the situation’s human urgency and the increasing toll on the affected communities, Las Vegas Okinawan Club board of directors and officers promptly approved to hold a fundraiser to aid and support humanitarian aid and disaster relief.
Las Vegas Okinawan Club will be accepting monetary donations through the end of February 2024. If you are attending the 2024 New Year’s party on February 17, 2024, we will be collecting monetary donations in-person.
At Las Vegas Okinawan Club, we strive to improve the lives of underprivileged children and individuals in our community by providing them with water, food, clothes, toiletry items and other items. Our aim is to break the cycle of poverty and give these children a chance at a better future. On behalf of Las Vegas Okinawan Club, we want to extend our sincerest gratitude for partnership with The Promise Las Vegas, Gene Haas Foundation and Asian Community Resource Center for their donation and partnership. This will have a significant impact on helping individduals and families in criss within the unhoused communiy as they make progress. Thank you so much for your kindness and. generosity!
At Las Vegas Okinawan Club, we envision a world where every person has access to the resources they need to live a healthy, happy, and fulfilling life. We strive to create a world where everyone has the opportunity to thrive, regardless of their background or circumstances. Our community partners, local nonprofits and municipalities worked together to better our neighborhoods by creating and participating in events to support our Community.
The Winter Wonderland 4.0 Food Distribution event aims to provide essential food supplies and create a festive atmosphere for those in need. By coming together as a community, we can make a meaningful difference in the lives of these families and bring hope and warmth during the holiday season.
Special thanks to our community partners, Aloha Shoyu, Asian Community Resource Center, Neighborhood Housing Services Southern Nevada, Ninth Island Aunties, and Gene Haas Foundation, we were able to provide holiday groceries to 400 families experiencing food insecurities to support hunger relief, approximately 1,600 members in our Southern Nevada community. Families received a ham and trunkful of groceries. We are fortunate to have our community partners and supported to make our community a better place to live! Happy Holidays to you and your loved ones!
At Las Vegas Okinawan Club, we envision a world where every person has access to the resources they need to live a healthy, happy, and fulfilling life. We strive to create a world where everyone has the opportunity to thrive, regardless of their background or circumstances. Our community partners, local nonprofits and municipalities worked together to better our neighborhoods by creating and participating in events to support our Community.
The Ninth Island Aunties Thanksgiving Food Distribution 2023 event aims to provide essential food supplies for the families experiencing food insecurities during Thanksgiving holiday.
Special thanks to our community partners, Asian Community Resource Center, Ninth Island Aunties, Operation: Aloha Action, and Gene Haas Foundation, we were able to provide Thanksgiving groceries to 100 families experiencing food insecurities to support hunger relief in our Southern Nevada community. Families received a ham and trunkful of groceries. We are fortunate to have our community partners and supported to make our community a better place to live! Happy Holidays to you and your loved ones!
Our team is made up of dedicated individuals who are passionate about making a difference in the world. From our volunteers to our board members, everyone at Las Vegas Okinawan Club is committed to our mission and the children we serve.
If you are interested in volunteering and community service in 2024, please visit our "Community Service Event & Information Form" here, https://forms.gle/mNhoyKhAWTdPiRpY8
We will be updating this form throughout the year and it'll be a one-time stop to get information with our community outreach and community service projects. For Shannon West Homeless Youth Center project and Easter Basket projects, please contact Auntie Cathi Minami at (702) 635-2782; she is also included in this email.
Las Vegas Okinawan Club has several partnerships with local nonprofits and communities to better serve our Southern Nevada community! Our community service initiatives include:
1. Shannon West Youth Homeless Center - Dessert /baking goods delivery to Shannon West Youth Homeless Center once a month together with Ninth Island Aunties.
https://www.helpsonv.org/shannon-west-homeless-youth-center
2. Hunger Relief and Education Support for At-risk Children - Las Vegas Okinawan Club participates in Back-to-School Event to distribute school supplies, Easter Food Basket Giveaway and early literacy books each year.
3. Senior Services for Minority and Immigrant Individuals and Families - Las Vegas Okinawan Club's Keiro program offers dependent older adults, a warm, safe and encouraging environment. Our friendly and professional volunteers provide:
For families caring for a dependent older relative, can feel confident that their loved one is being cared for in a safe and nurturing setting. Volunteers in the Keiro Senior Services program are bilingual
4. Las Vegas Homeless Camp Food Distribution - members help coordinate food pickup and deliver for food distribution to a homeless camp near the Las Vegas Strip once a month. Our partnership with "The Promise" allows for helping those in need. Please visit https://www.instagram.com/thepromiselv/.
5. Food Drive for Struggling Families - Las Vegas Okinawan Club's new initiative is to help to feed families and individuals in need in our Southern Nevada community, and food and monetary gifts donated by caring community members are a vital part of making that happen. If you have non-perishable food you are not using or not going to consume, please consider to donate and drop them off at our club events and gatherings.
Please visit our "Philanthropic Initiatives" page to learn more about our community service projects.
These are some words and phrases in the Okinawa/Ryukyuan language (sometimes referred to incorrectly as a hogen 方言 or dialect though it is quite different than Japanese in pronunciation). It is known as uchinaaguchi うちなーぐち. There are actually several variations, as regions and different islands technically had their own languages! Most of these below will be from the main island language group. Unfortunately fewer and fewer people these days can even speak uchinaaguchi. https://www.onookinawa.com/home/learn-uchinaguchi/
Ryukyuan dance can be basically categorized into “Traditional Dance”, “Zo Dance” and “Creative Dance”. Traditional Dance is developed as being performed on the stage for entertaining Imperial envoys (Sapposhi) from China during the Ryukyu Kingdom era and came to attain greatness in the 18th century. Traditional Dance is classified into four kinds; the old married couple’s Rojinodori, young boys’ Wakashuodori, young men’s gallantry expressed in Nisaiodori, and the Onnaodori female dance performed with fascinating Bingata-dyed colorful costumes. The Zo Dance appeared after Haihan-Chiken, the abolition of clans and the establishment of the prefectural system (after 1879). Adopting music and culture of commoners, it became popular. “Creative Dance” is created by dancers of modern times, and superior works are still being created one after another. In 2009, Ryukyuan Dance was designated as a National Important Intangible Cultural Property. https://www.nt-okinawa.or.jp/traditional-okinawan-performing-arts/english/ryukyudance_en.html
The Sanshin music of Okinawa can be roughly divided into traditional music and folk songs. Generally called traditional music, they are the court music from the Ryukyu Kingdom era, which developed by being used for Kumiodori and the traditional dance. The folk songs have been handed down among the common people with their origin in traditional songs and traditional music. Source: https://www.nt-okinawa.or.jp/traditional-okinawan-performing-arts/english/sanshin-music_en.html
Our Sanshin instructor, Kazuko Underhill teaches Okinawan Sanshin at her residence for free. Please contact (702) 371-3149. Please text first if you are interested in learning Okinawan Sanshin.
The Sanshin music of Okinawa can be roughly divided into traditional music and folk songs. Generally called traditional music, they are the court music from the Ryukyu Kingdom era, which developed by being used for Kumiodori and the traditional dance. The folk songs have been handed down among the common people with their origin in traditional songs and traditional music. Source: https://www.nt-okinawa.or.jp/traditional-okinawan-performing-arts/english/sanshin-music_en.html
Our Sanshin instructor, Kazuko Underhill teaches Okinawan Sanshin at her residence for free. Please contact (702) 371-3149. Please text first if you are interested in learning Okinawan Sanshin.
Las Vegas Okinawan Club's new initiative is to help to feed families and individuals in need in our Southern Nevada community, and food and monetary gifts donated by caring community members are a vital part of making that happen. If you have non-perishable food you are not using or not going to consume, please consider to donate and drop them off at our club events and gatherings. For questions, please text (702) 350-2689.
Restaurant Discounts - We are so grateful for the generosity of Okinawa Onigiri & Ramen Tatsu! Please support local businesses!
Las Vegas Okinawan Club members are eligible for a 10% discount at these two restaurants. Please make sure to present your valid membership card!
Traditional Okinawan Dancers, Ryubu No Tomo
Reiko Ogasawara, a former Japanese NBA dancer came to our 2023 Spring picnic on May 18 to teach a dance move to our club members and picnic attendees.
Las Vegas Okinawan Club held its 10th year anniversary party. We had guests from Okinawa Association of America (Los Angeles Okinawa Kenjinkai), Utah Okinawa Kenjinkai, and other guests from out of state. Together, we had 204 guests to celebrate the club's 10th year anniversary on September 3, 2022.
2021 Las Vegas Okinawan Club Annual Spring Picnic (May 1, 2021)2021年度ラスベガス沖縄県人会春のピクニック
2021 Las Vegas Okinawan Club Birthday Lunch2021年度ラスベガス沖縄県人会バースデーランチ
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5240 South Decatur Boulevard, Las Vegas, Nevada 89118, United States
General Contact our secretary Lynn Oshiro (702) 608-3038 Please Text before calling Email - lasvegasokinawakenjinkai@gmail.com For mailing membership form, please send it to C/O Las Vegas Okinawan Club 4467 Verdiccio Ave. Las Vegas, NV 89141-42
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