The Tule Lake Committee has announced that the dates for the 2016 Tule Lake Pilgrimage will be July 1-4. Pilgrimage information and registration forms will be posted online at the committee’s information website (www.tulelake.org) on Feb. 19.
This year’s pilgrimage, “Our Hallowed Ground,” is the 21st pilgrimage to Tule Lake and will honor those imprisoned at the civil rights site of protest and sorrow — where Japanese Americans who said “No” to America’s injustice were segregated and punished for their dissent.
Thanks to the all-volunteer work of the Tule Lake Committee, the registration fee is $475 per person.
For those on fixed incomes or students, the fee is $325. For former Tule Lake incarcerees, 80 years of age or older, the fee is $250. Grants are also available to assist with the registration fee.
The registration fee is all-inclusive and covers charter bus transportation, lodging, meals and all activities during the four-day pilgrimage. Pilgrimage participants travel together in deluxe chartered buses that will depart from Berkeley, Portland, Sacramento, San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle and Union City.
Accommodations are at the Oregon Institute of Technology in Klamath Falls. There are two housing options: standard double-occupancy dorm rooms that are included in the registration fee, or the four- bedroom/four-person air-conditioned suites that add an extra charge of $50 per person, making the registration fee $525. However, these suites are further from the main activity 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 concentration camp site and a memorial service.
Intergenerational discussion groups and open forums provide an occasion to learn, share experiences and help heal the multigenerational wounds of the incarceration.
The final night’s closing cultural program is open to the public and will be held at the Ross Ragland Theater in downtown Klamath Falls.
Given the growing interest in the Tule Lake Pilgrimage, registration is expected to close quickly. In recent pilgrimages, spaces fill within the first two weeks of registration.
Registration should be completed as soon as possible. All forms should be completed and mailed with check payment only.
For those without Internet access or for more information, contact Hiroshi Shimizu at (415) 566-2279 or (415) 317-2686 or email shimizu@pacbell.net.
