Fri, 30 Jan 2009 21:39:00
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| Article by:
Nicle Ely
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Nihonmachi resident Grace Horikiri has kept her Japanese culture alive through community work since her childhood.
Horikiri – a second generation Japanese American – came of age in 1960s San Francisco. She embraced American culture, but kept her heritage close to her heart. She attended a Catholic school, watched baseball games and enjoyed drawing. Then after school, Horikiri would practice Japanese for three hours, followed by Japanese buyo lessons.
Today, Horikiri juggles several tasks in the community. She is a co-chair of the Nihonmachi Street Fair, a design director for Nagamuma Design and Direction and works with Kimochi senior services.
In between her busy schedule, Horikiri made time to share with The Western Edition information about the street fair and how her work has affected her life and the community.
QUESTION: Why did you decide to get involved with the Nihonmachi Street Fair?
ANSWER: Growing up in San Francisco’s Japantown, being involved in community events was a natural thing to do. I attended the Nihonmachi Street Fair as a young teen, then started to volunteer at the various booths and later on to help with the production of the program book. Being on the organizing committee helped me to see the big picture and how I can help this organization. That is one of the goals for the NSF to provide young people with leadership skills so that they may be useful citizens and leaders of tomorrow.
Q: What does the street fair do for the Nihonmachi community?
A: We provide our youth with an opportunity to volunteer their time, learn organizational skills and learn to work with others for a common goal. The NSF also provides an opportunity for our local nonprofit groups to come together and work side by side. It really gives them a chance to network and do outreach in a larger scale.
Q: What difficulties have you come across?
A: The most difficult obstacle is like for all nonprofits, funding. The NSF isn’t large and grand like the Union Street Fair; our operating budget is small, yet we all pay for the same permit fees to the city. The logistical costs keep rising and although we do try our best to keep our application fees low, we are facing a year that we will need to raise them.
Another obstacle we came across last year was a negative vibe we received from the more newer faces of the J-town neighborhood. I think people forget that you move into a neighborhood and become part of a mixture. That means working together with what is already established, and in our case, for more than 35 years.
Q: What sets this street fair aside from all the other street fairs in San Francisco?
A: The Nihonmachi Street Fair has always been a grassroots organization. It is probably the only outdoor fair that is organized totally on volunteer efforts. We have no paid staff, everyone does this for the love of the diverse communities and for the city. Our board and committee are made up of folks that truly believe in that volunteer spirit and to work in unity.
Q: How else do you stay involved in the community?
A: Volunteering my time wherever it is needed, participating in events that promote the nonprofit organizations and most importantly, staying in tune with what issues we are facing.
Q: Describe your work for Kimochi Inc. Why do you think this is important?
A: Kimochi Inc. is very dear to my heart. Not only because of what the organization does for our elderly, but in the most recent years, what they have done for my family.
As a design director at NDD Creative we have provided Kimochi our service of communication and graphic design. By creating communication tools such as their Web site and publications so that they can outreach to specific audiences.
Q: What have you learned about yourself and your community through your involvement?
A: To always give back to the people, organization and community that have provided so much and has guided me to the person I am today.
Q: What do you hope for the future?
A: I do hope that the Nihonmachi Street Fair can continue on and to remain an event that celebrates the diversity of our city.
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