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The threat of rain kept many of our members at home but a few die-hard explorers made the trip to the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden on April 13 to enjoy what turned out to be fine day. The 127 acre site in Arcadia was a nice locale and will likely be on the list for future visits.
It was a great turn out for this years event held on March 2. It appeared to be full house around the time Bingo started. Our ABA members helped out with the preparation and distribution of the delicious dinners. Some of us even performed prior to the Bingo (see the ABAsonics page).
The ABA New Year Party was held on February 25 at The Luxe Buffet in the Westminster Mall. This was organized by Cindy and Karen, included a gift bag with scratch lottery tickets (a few winners), a dexterity game contest (won by Denise), and lots of great food and company. Photos by Joanne Nakamura.
Nishi ABA put together an exciting 2½ cruise out of Shoreline Village aboard the yacht Spirit. A clear and sunny day with some gusty winds and a rocking boat made for a fun time. Combine that with a fiesta buffet, free flowing margaritas, and a cash bar raised expectations for an entertaining event. And ABAsonics played about an hour set. See the photos by Joanne and the music video below of Sea of Love.
ABA members were involved in many areas of this years Obon Carnival. One of the biggest challenges was to prepare the Teriyaki Chicken for Saturday’s pre-ordered meals. In addition, boba drinks were offered on both days and spam musubi on Sunday. The planning and preparation was a big job but actual work to transform huge amounts of raw chicken into delicious teriyaki chicken took many days of tedious labor, leaving our members exhausted, aching, and happy for the success. Here are photos (provided by Joanne) from the kitchen activity.
A fundraising concert was held at Nishi Betsuin’s west parking lot on June 3 featuring our own ABAsonics band. The proceeds from the evenings events are to go for temple office equipment to facilitate mailing of the newsletter. Unfortunately, one band member, Eric, was absent for family matters but Denise and Thomas managed to fill the void. It was a wonderful evening and thanks go to all of our members, families, and friends that helped out. Please check out the photos by taken Joanne below.
On April 8, 2023, 15 Nishi ABA members enjoyed a visit to Tanaka Farms in Irvine. They participated in the “Farm-to-Table Cook-Out Tour” picking Swiss chard, kale and Japanese turnips provided a hands-on farming experience for these city folks.
This Spring Harvest Festival on the farm included games, food, arts and crafts, picture taking with the Easter Bunny and an Easter Egg Hunt for the kids. A visit with the barnyard animals was also included.
Culminating the day of harvest, the group enjoyed a delicious lunch: grilled chicken, freshly picked purple cauliflower and zucchini and a scrumptious kale salad with strawberries, cranberries and a vinaigrette dressing. This meal tasted so good!
A special “Arigato” to ABA’s activity chair Glenn Saita for organizing this event.
Nishi ABA members were privileged to personally meet Glenn and Shirley Tanaka. They welcomed and thanked ABA for their visit.
Twelve years ago, after the Great East Tohoku earthquake and tsunami on March 31, 2011, Tanaka Farms and Orange County Optimist Club (OCO) created the “Walk the Farm Foundation”. Through fundraising events, they were able to aid 14 farmers in the devastated areas in Japan. “Harvesting hope for farmers suffering from devastation of natural disasters” is the purpose of this important foundation. Their work continues, ranging from providing revenue to small farms, providing mentorship and helping rebuild areas of destruction and pillage and so much more.
The dedication and continuous work of this foundation, supporting farms in need of survival assistance is praiseworthy. Supporting the farming legacy in hopes to inspire the future generations to continue and preserve this important industry. For more information go to: https://www.walkthefarm.org
“Education, entertaining and feeding families all year round” is the motto of Tanaka Farms. For more information visit the Tanaka Farms website: https://www.tanakafarms.com
Nishi ABA members were educated, entertained and fed at the Tanaka Farm. They also supported and embraced this foundation’s cause. We encourage everyone to “Walk the Farm”!
It was a great day indeed!
March 4 was the return of the highly anticipated dinner of salmon, beef, rice, and side dishes. This was either a drive-thru pickup dinner or a dine-in to mingle with friends and relatives. ABA members were there to assist in prep and filling orders while ABAsonics entertained the diners. Thank you for your support.
Photos by Joanne Nakamura
The 50th anniversary since Nishi’s ABA was re-established will be commemorated later this year so we held a fundraiser to support our activities. Thank you to all who placed orders, helped prepare and distribute the bentos from Jichan’s Onigiri in Monterey Park.
ABA walks Long Beach Shoreline on Saturday, May 21. It was an enjoyable 4.5 mile walk with beautiful sites and fun conversations. The walk ended with a nice outdoor luncheon at Tequila Jack’s in Shoreline Village.
April 9, 2022 was a fantastic day for an excursion at Carbon Canyon in Brea. A group of our members enjoyed an outing at the regional park and had a sack lunch after the walk. Stories to follow…
December 5, 2021: all affiliate organizations participated in a thorough cleaning of the whole temple.
ABA was tasked with the east lot, kitchen patio, and basement maintenance areas.
On November 28, 2021 after service, a gathering of ABA and their families took place in the kaikan to socialize and take in a performance by ABA Sonics. View the highlight video.
A group of members took in apple picking on September 25, 2021
