2021 JETAA Chicago Virtual Shinnenkai

February 6 - 7, 2021
Online! In your own home!
Registration Closed

Join JETAA Chicago for the 17th Annual JETAA Chicago Shinnenkai! To welcome the new year, we are spreading the fun out over three days from Friday, February 5, through Sunday, February 7! Each day will have a different focus, as we celebrate the culture of Japan and our community’s continued connection to it. And as always, the Shinnenkai is open to the public!

UPDATE as of 1/29

The Supply Packs are being shipped, but the Trivia Package upgrade is still available!  The options now include:

  • General Admission, FREE, Access to join the fun all three days!
  • GA + Trivia Participant, $10, Admission to all 3 days and a spot in Saturday's trivia!
  • Additional Donation, $5 increments, An option for offering additional support to our partners!

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

Kick-off - Friday, Feb. 5 - 6PM-7PM CST

Our welcome ceremony featuring presentations from the Japanese American Service Committee and the Japanese Culture Center including...

  • Haiku Session, William Seiyo Sheehan, President of Seiyo Inc. and Resident Poet with the Japanese Arts Foundation, presents the topic “Three Friends of Winter" and "Sho-Chiku-Bai".  Three Friends of Winter represents the promise of good fortune. All together, Pine, bamboo, and plum embody steadfastness, perseverance, and resilience.

Cultural Connections: Storytelling and Trivia Night - Saturday, Feb. 6 - 7PM-9PM CST

A casual evening of exploring our connections with Japan. Part I (7PM-8PM) will open a discussion about how our community (JETs and Friends of JET) maintain our Japan connections in different ways, featuring a special guest alumni, Joe Palermo (Gunma, 1982-1983). In Part II (8PM-9PM), attendees can go head-to-head in a special US-Japan themed trivia and compete for a variety of prizes!

UPDATE: You do not need to make a donation to participate in the game itself, BUT trivia participants who sign up for the "+Trivia" option will be eligible to win a one-of-a-kind calligraphy piece by Oda-Sensei, Shodo master at the JCC!

Sunday Family Fun-day - Sunday, Feb.7 - 2PM-3:30PM CST

Attendees will be treated to a variety of fun craft activities including origami and nengajo designs. You may bring your own supplies or sign-up for the “+Activity Supply Pack” ticket to have some mailed to you!

General Admission is free for all three days, but attendees have the option to upgrade to expand their experience. Check out the ticket types for more information. Attendees can purchase multiple ticket types if you want the full experience!

We hope to see you there!

Questions? Contact us at info@jetaachicago.com.

And in the spirit of strengthening our community’s connection with Japan, this year proceeds from the “Activity Supply Pack” and Trivia” upgrades will benefit two organizations in Chicago that have been incredible partners to our chapter over the years: the Japanese American Service Committee and the Japanese Culture Center.

Japanese American Service Committee

Founded in 1946, JASC was formed to serve the needs of Japanese immigrants and their American-born children coming to Chicago after leaving the World War II internment camps. Originally called the Chicago Resettlers Committee, the organization assisted with housing, jobs, and the re-forming of a community.

JASC has served as a unique locus for the Japanese American community while playing a much larger role in providing social services to a much wider and diverse group of Chicagoans. JASC has built the Heiwa Terrace Retirement Community, the Keiro Long Term Care Facility, and instituted a number of individual services and activities for both children and adults.

JASC also works to archive the history of the Japanese American experience in Chicago for both scholars and the community with the JASC Legacy Center while continuing to provide social service and cultural programs for the greater Chicago area. As our community continues to grow and change culturally, ethnically and socioeconomically, we have an ever-lasting duty to adapt and change to better serve and improve the physical, emotional, and social well-being of our community.

Click here for more information.

Japanese Culture Center

The Japanese Culture Center was established in 1977 in Chicago by Aikido Shihan (Teacher of Teachers) and Zen Master Fumio Toyoda to make some of the martial arts, crafts, and philosophical riches of Japan available to the public.

Today the JCC continues this tradition, offering classes in over a dozen martial and cultural arts. The Center is not a museum where lifeless objects are displayed; it is a school where living skills are passed on person to person from generation to generation. You become an active participant in arts that have been around for hundreds, if not thousands of years.

Click here for more information.

Questions? Contact us at info@jetaachicago.com.

Where

Online! In your own home!

Dates & Times

  • February 5, 2021
    6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
  • February 6, 2021
    7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
  • February 7, 2021
    2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
All dates and times listed in America/Chicago (-6:00).

Tickets

  • General Admission
    Free
    The GA ticket for the 2021 JETAA Chicago Shinnenkai is free. It grants the holder admission to all three days.
  • General Admission + Trivia Entry
    US$10.00
    This ticket grants the holder access to every day of the event, plus one space in the US-Japan flavored trivia being held on Saturday, 2/6 (trivia starts at 8PM CST). Trivia participants who make a donation will have the opportunity to win a one-of-a-kind calligraphy piece from the Shodo master at the JASC! Proceeds from the event will benefit the Japanese American Service Committee and the Japanese Culture Center.
  • Additional Donation
    US$5.00
    Not sure if you will be able to attend, but would still like to support our partners? You can still make a donation in $5 increments! Proceeds from the event will benefit the Japanese American Service Committee and the Japanese Culture Center.
Organized By

JETAA Chicago is the alumni association for past JET Programme participants that live in the Chicagoland area and two subchapter states of Wisconsin & Indiana. Majority of events and initiatives are for JET alumni, and there are some events that will indicate where the community and "Friend/Family of JET"(FOJ) are welcome to join. The JETAA Chicago Leadership Board can be contacted via email: info@jetaachicago.com For more frequently asked questions, go to https://www.jetaachicago.com/faq Thank you and let's #JETogether!

http://www.jetaachicago.com