On February 8, 2014, JANM held the Target Day Free Family Saturdays: Aloha from Hawaii with KoAloha Ukulelefamily festival. Every corner of the Museum was filled with music as KoAloha Ukulele led freeperformances, workshops, and more!
Cartoonist Vishavjit Singh leads a cartoon workshop. Photo by Russell Kitagawa.
In addition to the performances and workshops, guests also enjoyed ukulele-related film screenings of My KoAloha Story and The Haumana; and a variety of craft activities.
Throughout the afternoon the Aratani Central Hall was filled with the sounds of spectacular ukulele performances by exciting young performers Jason Arimoto, Tj Mayeshiro (from Hawaii), and Ryo Montgomery (from Australia!).
JANM guests brought their own ukeleles for free classes taught by KoAloha Ukele staff and artist partners. Photo by Mike Palma.
Many guests brought their own instruments for free ukulele classes with KoAloha Ukulele staff and artist partners. These lively classes were enjoyed by guests of all ages and all levels as a number of classes were offered by different artists.
Check out these photos from February’s Target Free Family Saturday. Click on the thumbnails to see the full image larger.
Guests make a sweet candy lei! Photo by M Palma.
Making a special ukulele key chain with KoAloha Ukulele staff members. Photo by M Palma.
Making a festive Hawaiian canoe in Ruthie’s Origami Corner. Photo by Tsuneo Takasugi.
Making a valentine with a bit of Hawaiian touch. Photo by M Palma.
Decorating a valentine with stickers. Photo by Tsuneo Takasugi.
Solo performance by Jason Arimoto. Photo by M Palma.
A young JANM guest strums along to the solo ukulele performances. Photo by M Palma.
Cartoonist Vishavjit Singh shared the reactions he received as he dressed up as Sikh Captain America and was photographed around NYC. Photo by Russell Kitagawa
Tj Mayeshiro and Ryo Montgomery pair up for a powerful ukulele duet. Photo by M Palma.
Brian Benevente of KoAloha Ukulele leads a beginner’s class. Photo by M Palma.
Jason Arimoto leads an intermediate ukulele class. Photo by M Palma.
Lucky students get instruction by Tj Mayeshiro during one of the intermediate ukulele classes. Photo by M Palma.
Anacapa ukulele sold instruments at JANM for those inspired by all of the activities and performances. Photo by Russell Kitagawa.
George “Gibi” del Barrio (Grandpa Geebz) led strum-along and sing-along workshops for the little ones. Photo by M Palma.
The entire family enjoyed the ukulele workshops. Photo by M Palma.
The festival closed with an All-Star jam finale featuring Jason Arimoto, Tj Mayeshiro, Ryo Montgomery, and Brian Benevente! Photo by M Palma.
Thanks to Russell Kitagawa, Mike Palma, Caroline Jung, Tsuneo Takasugi, and Tokumasa Shoji for taking amazing photographs!
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Save the date for JANM’s next Target Free Family Saturday on May 10th! In celebration of the new Dodgers: Brotherhood of the Game exhibition (opening March 29!), bring the whole family out for free baseball-themed crafts & activities…sure to be a home run! Stay tuned for updates on janm.org/target.
Esther graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles in the Summer of 2013 with a Bachelor's degree in History and a minor degree in Japanese. She was the curatorial intern at JANM for the 2013 Getty Multicultural Undergraduate Internship Program, and has also completed a marketing internship at the museum. Esther currently works as a Development Assistant for JANM.