Cranes on the Square @ Copley Square (3/8, 11:30 am -4:30 pm)

Cranes on the Square @ Copley Square

Sunday, March 8thfrom 11:30am to 4:30pm on the Plaza of Copley Square in Boston

My name is Timothy Nagaoka, and I teach Japanese in the Boston Public Schools. With the support of the Japanese Consulate in Boston, the Fish Family Foundation, Boston’s Department of Parks and Recreation, and the Japan Society of Boston, I am organizing an event called, “Cranes on the Square @ Copley Square” on Sunday, March 8th on the Plaza of Copley Square in Boston. The event will commemorate the Fourth Anniversary of the Great Northeast Japan Earthquake and Tsunami that struck Japan on March 11th, 2011.

Come to fold paper cranes

“Cranes on the Square” will take place on the Plaza of Copley Square in Boston. The event is open to the public, and it is free to participate. The event is centered around an interactive display where passersby will participate in making paper cranes, which they will then add to the display. Cork Styrofoam panels will be placed on the plaza, and as the participants fold the paper cranes they will use skewers to stick the paper cranes onto the panels. As more people participate, the panels will fill with paper cranes. Students studying Japanese and Japanese volunteers will set up tables around the display to teach people how to make the paper cranes.

Or, come to teach others how to fold paper cranes

The goal of the event is to get the public involved in an activity that brings awareness to the tragedy that occurred in Japan four years ago and to remind them of the survivors who continue to rebuild from the wreckage. As one who lived through the Great Hanshin Earthquake in 1995, I know how devastating a major disaster can be, and how easily the rest of the world moves on while the survivors are left to rebuild. The event will remind people of the disaster and the survivors who continue to rebuild in the Northeast region of Japan.

Please take a moment to remember the tragedy, and fold a paper crane

This is a timelapse video taken of the event posted on Youtube. It shows the entire event in two minutes.