The Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre is pleased to announce the Second Annual Sakura Ball, to be held at the JCCC on April 10th 2010.

The Sakura Ball is the JCCC's most high profile fundraising event of the year. Bringing together the best of Canadian and Japanese entertainment, cuisine, art, business, and style, the Sakura Ball is a one of a kind, not to be missed event.

One of the traditions of the Sakura Ball is the presentation of the Sakura Award. Awarded once a year by the JCCC, the Sakura Award recognizes exceptional contributions made by individuals to the promotion and exchange of Japanese culture and enhancing awareness of Nikkei heritage within Canada and abroad.

The first recipient of the Sakura Award was the Right Honourable Martin Brian Mulroney, the eighteenth Prime Minister of Canada, recognizing his participation in the Japanese Canadian Redress settlement on September 22, 1988. The JCCC is honoured to present this year’s Sakura Award to world-renowned Japanese Canadian architect Raymond Moriyama.

Raymond Moriyama is a hero to many Canadians. His stories of being interned during the Second World War because of his Japanese heritage and his rise to become one of Canada's most respected architects continue to inspire. Raymond has applied his extraordinary vision and understanding to numerous projects including the original Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre, Scarborough Civic Centre, Toronto Reference Library, Bata Shoe Museum, National Museum of Saudi Arabia, Canadian Embassy in Tokyo, and the new Canadian War Museum in Ottawa that recently received the Governor General’s Medal for Architecture. Such landmark projects consistently earn praise for their intimate relationship to land, nature, and community.

All proceeds raised at the Sakura Ball benefit the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre’s Legacy Campaign, which supports the ongoing cultural and heritage programming, exhibits, and events that take place through out the year and help to maintain the JCCC’s world class facility.

For more information about the Sakura Ball, please contact James Heron at 416-441-2345 ext.224 or jamesh@jccc.on.ca.

To learn about Sponsorship Opportunities at the Sakura Ball and other Annual JCCC Events, please contact William Petruck at 416-579-0870, wpetruck@fundingmatters.com or Laura Ashley at 416-779-4390, lashley@fundingmatters.com.

Click here to read the original article on the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre website.