As Seattle begins to show its best spring colors the Hyogo Business and Cultural Center hopes that this letter also finds you in good spirits.
The Hyogo Business and Cultural Center (HBCC) would like to extend its genuine appreciation for your generous contribution to the 30th Annual Washington State Japanese Speech and Skit Competition (SSC). The continuous support we receive from our community is invaluable to the competition’s yearly success.
In the same spirit of our effort to expand our base of supportive community members, businesses and partner organizations, this SSC 2013 also saw an expansion in participant categories. As a compliment to the non-native high school learners’ Speech and Skit categories, which welcomed 73 participants, this year applications were opened to heritage learners of Japanese, junior high school and university level students. This year, 28 Junior and Senior participants took the stage at the grand Roosevelt High School Theater and presented to over 200 audience members from all over Washington the impressive fruits of their diligent Japanese studies.
Throughout the 2013 SSC program, HBCC had the pleasure of welcoming to two top class guest performers: Habatan, the Hyogo Prefecture official mascot handed out prizes during the award ceremonies, and Kaze Daiko closed the day with an energizing Japanese Taiko routine. Presentations like these give SSC its multi-faceted character, one which praises excellence in language and celebrates the beauty and resonance of other cultural aspects.
It is our hope for future events that more and more participants benefit from this unique opportunity to showcase and share with their peers the powerful gift of language as well as join us in appreciation for the thoughtful collaboration of our sponsors.
Sincerely,
HBCC
