Hi everyone! First off, thank you so much for checking out our project! We are the team working behind the scenes of the Nikkei Student Union's (NSU) 34th Annual Cultural Night, and we can't wait to share our show with all of you. For us, Cultural Night (CN) has played a monumental role in our college experiences, and we are so honored to be able to continue this annual tradition. NSU's CN provides students with a wide variety of opportunities to get involved and showcase their talents, and we can't wait to put on a great show for everyone!

Cultural Night (CN) is our largest event of the year, usually drawing in an audience comprised of more than 1,000 students, staff, alumni, and community members. CN began back in February of 1986 with the Week of Remembrance, an on-campus event created to commemorate the signing of Executive Order 9066, the order responsible for incarcerating over 120,000 Japanese-Americans during World War II. Since then, CN has evolved as a way to showcase talented performers and feature issues that are relevant to the Japanese American community. This year, our show will be held on February 22, 2020 from 7:00-9:30 PM in Royce Hall. The production will feature performances from NSU Odori, NSU Modern, Kyodo Taiko, and our very own drama cast.

In the past, our drama performances have covered topics such as gentrification, mental health, and the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami. This year, we are returning to World War II in order to illustrate the devastating effects that Japanese-American incarceration had on family dynamics. To this day, many Japanese-American communities still feel the impacts of incarceration, and we believe that it is important to share the stories of the oft-misunderstood generations that came before us. Through this performance, we hope to confront stigmas that exist surrounding modern Japanese-Americans and intergenerational relationships. 

As a student-run organization, we rely heavily on outside funding sources to make CN possible. We seek funds through various avenues such as applying for grants and funding through UCLA, as well as seeking out sponsorships from local businesses and organizations. 

Traditionally, NSU’s CN has always been free and open to the public. We would love to keep our show accessible and welcoming for all, but in order to do that, we need enough funding to cover the costs. While we are actively pursuing various funding opportunities, CN can still be very expensive. As a result, we are reaching out to you to help us reach our goal! Our goal is to raise $7,000 that would be used towards the following areas:

Our costs are always increasing due to higher participation rates and raised venue costs, so any amount that you’re able to donate can help us fund this program! If monetary donations are not possible at this time, there are other ways you can show your support! We would love to spread the word across as many networks as possible. If you could simply share the SPARK campaign link on social media or via email, that would greatly help us as well!

CN has been a unique opportunity for us as students. From being able to perform in the historic Royce Hall in front of 1,000 people to working behind the scenes on producing such a large-scale program, we have been able to make countless memories with CN. As a show that centers around Japanese American history, cultural identity, and experience, we strongly value the power that our program has and the significance that it holds within our communities. After 33 years of successful productions, we have seen the importance of continuing this tradition. With your help, we would love to make our 34th production one of our best shows yet! 

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT IN MAKING CULTURAL NIGHT POSSIBLE!