Spring has finally sprung! Pack a bento and come relax with some good company (and trivia!) as we celebrate hanami under the crabapple trees.
Update: Now postponed to May 19th due to rain.
Date: Saturday, May 11th, 2024 May 19th, 2024
Time: 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Location: Dominion Arboretum (exact position to be posted on social media)
Join us for this special online event hosted by JETAA BC and JETAA Ottawa where we get a chance to talk to author Clara Kumagai. Kumagai has feet in Canada, Japan, and Ireland and has written a number of short stories for the Banshee Press and Stinging Fly. In 2023, she published her first YA novel Catfish Rolling. We will dive into what inspired her to explore space and time through the main character (永空).
Click here to listen to Clara’s quick summary of what her new book is all about. It will make you interested in picking up a copy of the book yourself at your local bookstore!
Whether you are a fan of Kumagai and new to her stories, we hope that you can join us for an interactive evening (or day) of words and imagination.
Date: Saturday, April 13th
Time: 11 am PDT / 2pm EDT / 7 pm GMT
Location: Online
RVSP: Zoom
シュガーシャックに行こうよ！🍁🥞🍳🥣🥓🥐
Come join us for a visit to the Vanier Sugar Shack before sugar season ends!
Date: Saturday, March 9th, 2024
Time: 9:00 AM
Where: Vanier Sugar Shack
Meet at: Richelieu-Vanier Community Centre Parking Lot
Let’s go for a visit to North America’s Only Urban Sugar Shack!
We’ll meet at the Richelieu-Vanier Community Centre public parking lot and then head on foot to the sugar shack, where we’ll line up for breakfast. Then we’ll walk around the site to see some sugaring off.
Please note, participants must cover their own costs.
If you would like to join us, please fill out this Google Form!
The call for platforms for the JETAA Canada’s Country Representative has begun and we’re looking for interested candidates! The Canada country representative (CR) is the primary point of contact to Canada’s various chapters, and represents our country at the JETAA-International level, as required. Please see the attached PDF for further details on the Canada Rep’s responsibilities. Platforms are due Thursday, February 15, 2024!
Candidates are asked to submit a platform that states the following:
All platforms should be submitted directly to Colleen, the Elections Officer, at 2024jetaacanadaelections「at」gmail「dot」com. The platform should not exceed 2 pages long.
The schedule of the 2024 election is as follows:
On December 9, we held our Annual General Meeting (minutes available here). Thanks to everyone who attended! We enjoyed sushi and snacks and democracy. Our chapter remains in good fiscal health and we’re excited to welcome a new exec member.
Please welcome our 2024 executive committee:
| President | Yeti Mallavi | Treasurer | Caitlan Wilson |
| Vice-President | Shuaib Syed | Secretary | Anna Rayner-Grignon |
| Social media | Zoe Maple | Newsletter Editor | Erica Long |
| Webmaster | Joshua Rose |
At the AGM, beyond our election, we also discussed the prior year – check out our 2023 Retrospective – and made some major announcements regarding Natsu Matsuri and Japanese classes.
Regarding Natsu Matsuri, many of you are already aware that this summer’s event was our Sunset Edition. This amazing event has outgrown our chapter’s capacity to organize and to fund, and so we have passed the baton to our community partners. Keep your eyes peeled for coming announcements on the future of the event!
Regarding Japanese classes, we were sad to announce that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has cut funding for the program worldwide. We were able to secure interim funding from CLAIR for this year. We are currently exploring alternative funding options, including grants and fundraising. We welcome any suggestions or contacts you may have.
Outgoing President Shuaib Syed was proud to show off the Ambassador’s Award for promoting Canada-Japan relations, which was awarded to JETAA Ottawa in August.
Happy Year of the Dragon, everyone! My name is Yeti Mallavi. I was formerly the vice-president and am now president. I’m excited to start this new role, try new events, and support our community in a variety of ways. If you have any events you would like to promote, as always, please feel free to share with exec@jetaaottawa.ca.
Douzo yoroshiku onegaimasu.
