【Online get-together 】
Cultural ＆ Social Exchange

The Sogetsu Colorado Branch held a virtual event for the members which combined the cultural exchange and socializing.

The cultural exchange aspect of the meeting began with a slide presentation, narrated by Ruby Maruyama, of Japanese New Year ikebana, traditional decorations, and foods. Our cultural advisors; Kinko Ohata, Seiko Yoshikawa and Michiko Yamamoto also contributed sample ikebana arrangements.

Afterwards, since our members have been unable to meet in person for over 9 months, we created an opportunity for our members to socialize in small groups. The 46 attendees were broken into small groups of 5 or 6 each to allow them to socialize in virtual rooms.

The rooms were regrouped several times, and the members were delighted to this long waited opportunity of  catching  up with each other. After about 10 minutes the groups were reassigned so that each members would have a chance to visit with a different set of members. In all, members were in 3 different rooms. m the feedback received, this aspect of the meeting was popular with the membership.

Our next virtual event will be our Annual Meeting on January 16, 2021. There will be a general business meeting of our members followed by a “Stroll Down Memory Lane”. Members are encouraged to submit photographs of one or two of their favorite arrangements from the past for a slide show. The members will be given an opportunity to briefly discuss their arrangement.

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