Manzanar, Diverted: Where Water Becomes Dust

Sunday, May 26, 2024

CATS is pleased to partner with Onyx Downtown again on Sunday, May 26, in bringing this documentary, an inspired and poetic portrait of a place and its people.  Manzanar, Diverted: When Water Becomes Dust follows intergenerational women from three communities who defend their land, their history and their culture from the insatiable thirst of Los Angeles. In this fresh retelling of the LA water story, Native Americans, Japanese-American WWII incarcerees and environmentalists form an unexpected alliance to preserve Payahuunadü (Owens Valley), “the land of flowing water.” Featuring breathtaking photography and immersive soundscapes, the film recounts more than 150 years of history, showing how this distant valley is inextricably tied to the city of Los Angeles. It reveals the forced removals of the Nüümü (Paiute) and the Newe (Shoshone) who were marched out of the Valley in the 1860s by the US Army, and the Japanese Americans who were brought here from their West Coast homes and incarcerated in a World War II concentration camp. Water lured outsiders in and continues to fuel the greed which has sucked this once lush place dry.

Filmmaker Ann Kaneko will appear virtually after the screening.  Screened at 28 film festivals worldwide | BEST DOCUMENTARY – San Diego Asian Film Festival | HONORABLE MENTION – CAAMFEST and Milwaukee Film Festival.

Tickets will be available through the Onyx Theatre at https://theonyxtheatre.com in April 2024

Tour of Manzanar Historic Site and the Eastern Sierra

Saturday and Sunday, June 8-9, 2024

This trip is sold out.  If you want to be placed on the waiting list, please email Jeannie Wood at info@catsweb.org.

Join CATS on a field trip to Manzanar National Historic Site and Mono Lake on Saturday and Sunday, June 8-9, 2024, with an evening of stargazing the Eastern Sierra skies from the Alabama Hills.

Manzanar War Relocation Center:

In deepening our experience of the play, CATS is planning an overnight trip to Manzanar War Relocation Center, now a National Historic Site, which was one of ten camps at which Japanese-American citizens and resident Japanese immigrants were interned during World War II, as is referenced in the play, Snow Falling on Cedars. Located at the foot of the majestic Sierra Nevada in eastern California’s Owens Valley, Manzanar has been identified as the best preserved of these camps.

With a ranger-led tour on Sunday, June 9, we will learn about the experience of the Japanese at Manzanar. At the Visitor Center, there are extensive exhibits, a 22-minute film and a bookstore. Adjacent to the Visitor Center is Block 14 with two reconstructed barracks and a mess hall with exhibits.  Explore remnants of orchards, eleven excavated rock gardens and ponds, building foundations, and the camp cemetery.  If you have been to Manzanar before, please join us again, as Manzanar continues to add to their exhibits and historic relics.

Mono Lake:

Our first leg of our trip on Saturday takes us to Mono Lake for a ranger-led tour.  Mono Lake is on an oasis in the dry Great Basin and a vital habitat for millions of migratory and nesting birds.  For 40 years, the Mono Lake Committee has been working to protect Mono Lake from destruction, to heal the damage done in the Mono Basin, and to educate the public about the natural environment and wise water use.

Hotel Lodging:  Lone Pine, California:

We will be staying overnight at the Dow Villa Motel at Lone Pine, just minutes from Manzanar. As we travel along Highway 395 in the Eastern Sierra, we will be captivated by the majesty of Mt. Whitney in the distance and the Alabama Hills, which were famous settings of old Westerns and TV commercials.  John Wayne, Humphrey Bogart, Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, and Clint Eastwood filmed classics such as “Tycoon”, “High Sierra”, “Boots and Saddles”, “Joe Kidd”, and in recent days, Robert Downey Jr. filmed “Iron Man.”  We will visit the famous Lone Pine Film History Museum just before checking into our hotel.

Stargazing:  On Saturday evening, June 8, at 8:30 p.m., we will stargaze under the beautiful skies of the Eastern Sierra, hopping on our bus for a short jaunt to the Alabama Hills.  We are grateful to have on the trip Dave Weixelman, an amateur astronomer, leading the star gazing presentation. He will point out present-day constellations in the night sky using a laser pointer and also talk about ancient Chinese constellations and star lore in the night sky.

To Register:

The cost is $295 per person/double occupancy.  Fee includes round trip bus, ranger-led tours and donations to Manzanar and Mono Lake, hotel accommodations, parking, driver gratuity and driver hotel room.  We are on our own for meals.  Bring a cooler for your snacks, food, and drinks and a collapsible lawn chair for stargazing. Contact Jeannie Wood at info@catsweb.org to register.

Itinerary:

1. Bus departs at 6:00 a.m. from a designated parking lot in Nevada City. Site to be advised.
2. Arrive at Mono Lake for ranger-led tour, 12:30 p.m.
3. Arrive at Whoa Nellie Deli in Lee Vining for a late lunch at 2:00 p.m.
4. Arrive at Lone Pine at 4:00 p.m. and visit the Lone Pine Film History Museum.
5. Check into the Dow Villa Motel at 5:00 p.m.
6. Dinner on our own; great restaurants are nearby – a list of eateries will be provided.
7. Explore the town of Lone Pine after dinner.
8. Optional stargaze at 8:30 p.m. Meet the bus in the parking lot with your collapsible lawn chair.
9. We will make periodic stops throughout the trip to stretch our legs. There is a restroom aboard the 54-passenger bus.

Sunday, June 9, 2024:

1. Breakfast on your own.
2. Check out and depart Dow Villa Hotel at 8:30 a.m.
3. Arrive Manzanar at 9:00 a.m.
4. Ranger-led tour and time to explore on our own.
5. Leave Manzanar at 12:00 p.m.
6. No-host lunch at Erick Schat’s Bakery in Bishop, 1:00-2:30 p.m. (Note: they have great breads, baked goods and more! – take some home!)
7. Leave Bishop at 2:30 p.m.
8. Return to Nevada City parking lot at approximately 8:00 p.m. (with a stop at a fast-food restaurant for dinner).

“Sell Me: I’m from North Korea!”

a Stream of a Live Performance by Sora Baek on the Women Defectors of North Korea

Thursday, September 26, 2024, 7:00 p.m.

in Collaboration with Onyx Downtown at the Nevada Theatre

SELL ME: I Am From North Korea, a one-woman play, written and performed by award-winning actor, writer and producer Sora Baek, is inspired by the true stories of North Korean women defectors who risk everything to escape one of the world’s most repressive regimes. This evening’s show is a stream of a live performance.

“I am on a mission to help people to rethink their preconceived notions of North Korea. Too often, when people think of North Korea, they automatically imagine nuclear weapons and military parades, forgetting the suffering of the average citizen and especially women. I believe my solo show offers a unique personal perspective of a North Korean woman defector and survivor while raising important questions about women’s rights, diversity, and empowerment. I am committed to continuing to share my show to bring the true story of North Korean women to the forefront of the global conversation.” – Sora Baek

“… heart-rending piece…” – Tom Block, International Human Rights Art Festival Founder & Executive Director

Sora Baek will appear virtually after the screening.  Tickets will be available through the Onyx Theatre at https://theonyxtheatre.com in September 2024.  She has performed her solo show, either live or virtually, at fringe festivals, theaters across the U.S. and Canada, at human rights events, Asian-American Heritage Month celebrations, and at universities.

Nevada City Chinese Lunar New Year Festival and Parade

Sunday, February 25, 2024, 12:00-4:30 pm

from Commercial Street, to Spring Street, and to the Miners Foundry

Having been dark for the past three years due to the pandemic, the Nevada City Chinese Lunar New Year Festival and Parade returns and welcomes the Year of the Dragon, on Sunday, February 25, 2024, 12:00-4:30 p.m.  Chinese New Year Festivals are rare in rural communities, and CATS, along with the Miners Foundry Cultural Center, is proud to present this tenth family-friendly celebration, honoring the early Chinese Gold Rush pioneers and railroad workers of the Sierra. Nevada County was once home to thousands of Chinese during the Gold Rush, and this event honors their legacy. The community parade begins at 12:00 noon from the bottom of Commercial Street, the site of the old Chinese Quarter during the Gold Rush.  Revelers should line Commercial Street.  The parade starts at the Robinson Plaza on Union Street (by the Nevada City Chamber office and the large Pelton Wheel), going up Commercial Street, making a left turn down Broad Street, making a right turn down Bridge Street (Bonanza Market), and then onto Spring Street where the Lion and Dragon dancing will take place immediately following the parade.  Revelers may follow the Lions and Dragon from Commercial Street to Spring Street. After their performance, more entertainment will take place at the Miners Foundry, for an afternoon of fun for the whole family!  Free admission.  We thank the Miners Foundry, the Nevada City Chamber of Commerce, the City of Nevada City, and the Nevada City Arts Council for their collaboration.

Our parade Grand Marshal is Eliza Tudor, Executive Director of the Nevada County Arts Council.  She will be joined by her Board and staff.  Parade units include Chinese ceremonial Lion Dancers and a 72’ Chinese Dragon from Eastern Ways Martial Arts of Sacramento, Grass Valley Taiko drummers, second and third graders from Bell Hill Academy, “Mulan,” and other community entries. Food would be available for sale by Kaliko’s Hawaiian Kitchen and K&P Kickin Kettle Korn at the Foundry. The Foundry Bar will serve up Asian-inspired drinks and yummy desserts! There will be Asian-themed arts and crafts and gifts for sale, a kid’s table, Chinese tea ceremony demonstrations, author and filmmaker Bill George on the Chinese gold rush and railroad history, dragon horoscope tattoos, and more!  We are seeking parade entries, entertainers, vendors, exhibitors, sponsors, and lots of volunteers.  Contact Jeannie Wood at info@catsweb.org