TULE LAKE PILGRIMAGE COMMITTEE SETS DATES, BEGINS REGISTRATIONS FOR SUMMER VISIT (MON., JAN. 23, 2012)

The Tule Lake Pilgrimage Committee has announced that its 2012 pilgrimage will take place Saturday, June 30 through Tuesday, July 3, with registrations now being accepted via www.TuleLake.org. 

The registration fee is $400 per person or $325 for those on low or fixed incomes. The all-inclusive fee covers charter bus transportation, lodging, meals and all activities during the four-day pilgrimage. The committee is offering free registration to former Tule Lake incarcerates who are 80 years and older.

The pilgrimage registration deadline is April 30. Registration after April 30 will be on a space available basis at an increased cost of $450 for all categories.

This year’s pilgrimage, with the theme “Understanding No-No and Renunciation,” is the 19th pilgrimage to Tule Lake and will continue the focus on the Japanese American dissenters who said “No” to America’s demand that they prove loyalty, and understanding the nearly 5,600 Japanese Americans who gave up their devalued U.S. citizenship while segregated at Tule Lake.

Pilgrimage participants will travel together in deluxe, chartered buses that depart from San Francisco, Berkeley, San Jose, Union City, Sacramento, Seattle and Portland. Accommodations are at the Oregon Institute of Technology in Klamath Falls. The two housing options are: the standard double-occupancy dorm rooms that are covered by the registration fee, or 4-br/4-person air-conditioned suites* that will add an extra charge of $50 per person to your registration fee. (The suites are farther from the main building and have no elevators; a limited number of ground-level suites are handicapped accessible.)    

Activities over the four-day pilgrimage include a tour of the Tule Lake campsite and a memorial service. Intergenerational discussion groups and open forums provide an occasion to learn, share experiences and help heal the wounds of the incarceration experience. The cultural program of music, dance and spoken-word is open to the public and will be held at the Ross Ragland Theater in downtown Klamath Falls.

Registration forms posted at the Tule Lake website www.tulelake.org may be filled in with the requested information, printed out and mailed to us with your check. If you would like registration forms mailed to you via USPS, or if you want more information, telephone Hiroshi Shimizu at (415) 566-2279 or (415) 317-2686. Email: hshimizu@pacbell.net.