Monday, November 18, 2013

[ACTIVITY REPORT]IMCY Booth at Hodogaya International "Tsudoi" Festival 2013

I

IMCY admin members joined the Hodogaya International Festival "Tsudoi" 2013 on Sunday, 17th November.

This time, in addition to the bazaar,  we served Indian Hena Hand Paint and we also sold cookies like kinako macarons and pain d'epices (ginger cookies).

Three of our members also helped the ethnic costume exhibition at the gallery wearing their traditional costumes. They were really appreciated.

Since this was an international festival, there were various people - different nationalities/origins and age, which was nice, too. Just next to our booth was the Kimono Try-On room, where many foreign visitors (even our members!) tried on gorgeous Kimono (Furisode) and the staff also arranged their hair for kimono style, too. Some kids also put on the kimono and were really cute.

We've got positive comments from many people that they were impressed by the fact that we, the mothers of young children, do this kind of activity by ourselves.

We would like to show our gratitude to the HIEC (Hodogaya International Exchange Center) staff for all their support to our booth.

Thank you!!

Sunday, November 17, 2013

[EVENT] Children's Bento Class by HIEC, 23rd February 2014

HIEC (Hodogaya International Exchange Center) will provide a one-day class of Children's Bento for foreign people.

Date: SUN 23rd February, 2014 (time has not been indicated yet)
Place: Hodogaya Chiku Center 2F Kitchen
Charge: ¥500
Targets: Foreign people (18 years old and up), 20 people at max

Application: Call 045-337-0012 from 23rd January, 2014


Larger Map




Scenes from last year.

















Website of HIEC

Sunday, November 3, 2013

[PLAYGROUP] French & Multilingual Playgroup by IMCY

IMCY is going to have a French & Multilingual Playgroup in December and January. This playgroup is open for every family with preschool children and younger.

[Overview]
This playgroup is conducted mainly in French with some help of English and Japanese. French skills are not required, so please feel free to visit and enjoy the French culture. We also add "multi-lingual" as we will have some families who speak other languages. It will be greatly welcomed if you can introduce stories (picture books), songs or finger plays in your other language(s) to us.

[Place]
Yokohama Miyazaki Chiku Day Care Center 3F Multi-purpose room.

Larger Map

[Schedule]
13th December (FRI) 13:30-15:00
Theme: Saint Nicolas
Stories, songs and finger plays (in French and other languages).







Saint Nicolas is one of the saints and his birthday, 6th December is celebrated as "La Saint Nicolas" in some areas in France and in other European countries. He is said to be a model for Santa Claus. A little donkey brings gifts and cookies for children while the Santa's mates are reindeer. 

11th January (SAT) 10:30-12:00
Theme: L'Epiphanie (La Galette des Rois)
Stories, songs and finger plays (in French and other languages).

 




The Epiphany is another Christian holiday which is the 12th day from the Christmas. This is also the day when three Wise men (Rois mages in French) visited the baby Jesus in Bethlehem.

In France, they eat "Galette des Rois", which is a pie with almond cream filling. There is also a brioche version (the very left photo). There is a little porcelain called la fève (literally means "broad bean") inside the cake. The cake is cut in pieces and the youngest person hides under the table and choose a piece for each one. The one who gets la fève will be a king/queen and choose a queen/king.

*IMCY is not a religious group, so we deal with these holidays as a part of culture.

[Charge] ¥100/child
*We are going to prepare some snacks for children. You don't have to pay if your child is not old enough to eat them.

[Reservation]
Reservation is NOT required. You can come and leave anytime you want. However, since we are going to prepare snacks, it would be nice if you could e-mail us beforehand so that you will surely enjoy the shack.
e-mail: imcy.info*gmail.com (please replace * with @)

Friday, November 1, 2013

[IMCY ACTIVITY REPORT] Kandaiji Chiku Center Festival (Bazaar)

We, six of the admin members, joined Kandaiji Chiku Center Festival (神大寺地区センターまつり)on 27th October.

We got the chance to join this event thanks to an international exchange group "Kokusai Koryu Jyuku Kanagawa". When we are looking for some festivals or bazaar where we can sell goods to earn some money for our new activity (this time, for Deko Maki Sushi workshops), they kindly offered us a part of their place at the festival.
*Kokusai Koryu Jyuku Kanagawa (国際交流塾かながわ) is a group that encourage communication between locals and international people through parties, cooking classes etc...

We were there from 10:30 to 15:30 and sold 38 items!!
We sold handmade goods (hair accessories, otedama balls, wood and leather crafts and knits) and souvenirs from India (bindis, cotton stoles and necklaces) as below.


We also handed out the flyers of IMCY and the Deko Maki Sushi workshops.

It was the very first experience for us, and we enjoyed it a lot, too. However there are also some things that we should improve:

-Presentation and service: we didn't bring mirrors, so people who wanted to try on the necklace or stole had to go to a restroom to see if it suit them or not. Also, who we are and what we sell were not clear enough for passers-by.
[lesson] We should bring mirrors and hangers for things like stoles. We should prepare more posters explaining IMCY and the items.

-Goods for everyone: Most of our goods were for girls and women. ¥100 hair accessories were popular among school girls and so were Indian stoles and necklaces among elderly ladies. Maybe it would be nice if we have something for boys and men, too.

-Advertising: We were too busy selling goods and couldn't advertise IMCY enough. Our current flyer is more for would-be members (mothers of young children) and we'd better prepare another for "everyone".

Our booth was in the entrance hall, with food booths just outside in the patio, it smelled good all the time and we enjoyed some of the foods, too.

The profit (the sales with the cost subtracted) will be used for the Deko Maki Sushi workshop.

We're looking forward to the next festival at Iwama Shimin Plaza on 17th November. Please come and join us!

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

[IMCY Activity] Deco Maki Sushi Workshop & Gathering for mothers

Let’s get together with local and foreign mothers and enjoy  Deco Maki Sushi!
This workshop is provided by IMCY mothers for women who live and raise children in Yokohama, to make our lives happier and more comfortable.                 
   
★Date1★ Friday, December 6th 2013   10:30-12:30 
※Application Deadline:Nov.25th  
Snowman&Kagami-mochi (for the holiday season♪)










★Date2★ Monday, January 27th 2014    10:30-12:30  
※Application Deadline:Jan.14th
Baby Panda (easy to make but so cute♪)











 【Instructor】
Maeda Emi (JLL Japan Deco Sushi Association Master Instructor) Blog(in japanese)
She is also a mother of four daughters and lives in Yokohama.
※Her classes are usually in Japanese, but we will prepare recipes and instructions in English.

【Time Schedule】
10:30-11:00 Reception & Babysitter service starts,Kankankyo Introduction Video(5 min),self‐introduction
11:00-12:00 Making(rolling) sushi
12:00-12:30 Tasting time
12:30-12:45 Piking up children

【Target Persons】
Mothers/expecting mothers who would like to try making Decorative Sushi Rolls  and get together with other mothers/expecting  mothers regardless the nationality.

【Place】
 観環居(Kankankyo) Official website(in Japanese)
This place is an Experimental House of Smart Network Project by Sekisui House,LTD.
They kindly offer us their place for this event, and it's a modern Japanese style house standing among the high-rise buildings in Minatomirai.






 【Access】1min walk from the Minatomirai  Line  Shintakashima
Station Exit #3,
or 7min walk from Yokohama Station East Exit.
The place is catercorner of Nissan Global Headquarters Gallery.
Official website(in japanese)







【Charge】
1,000yen/each time
Materials, the recipe and insurance charges included.
Please pay in cash on the day.

【Babysitter service(NPO Hagutto)】
Free of charge
Reservation required: Please let us know your child’s name and age.

【Class size】
16 people at max /each time
Please note that if the number of applications exceeds the capacity, participants will be
selected through a drawing.

【Others】
Please let us know if you have food allergies or anything you can't eat.
(We are going to use sushi rice with vinegar and nori seaweed as basic ingredients for both workshops. Please let us know if you don't like them).

【Inquiries and application】
Please  e-mail us your name, residence area(City and Ward),phone number, email address and on which day you would liketo attend (you can also apply for both).
We will reply to you within three days for confirmation.
Feel free to ask any questions!

e-mail:   imcy.info【at】gmail.com  (Please change 【at】 to @)

Organizer :International Mothers Community in Yokohama(IMCY) 
IMCY is a group of international mothers providing a place to share information related to child-care on the Facebook  and the blog in English.

This activity is supported by Nikomachi Subsidy.                                                                 

[IMCY Activity] 保育付き♪デコ巻き寿司Workshop & 交流会

国籍を問わず、子育て中のママたちの日々の生活がより楽しく快適に、困った時には助け合えるようにとIMCYの子育て中のママたちが企画したワークショップ&交流会です。無料の保育付きなので、少し子どもと離れて自分の時間、ママたち同士の時間を楽しむことができます。

今回の内容は、外国につながるママにも日本のママにも人気のある『デコ巻き寿司』
一緒に巻き巻きしながら、子育ての話はもちろん、食文化に対する違いを感じたりもできると思います。

★日程1★ 2013年12月6日(金)10:30-12:30  
※申込み締切は11月25日(月) 
クリスマスやお正月にぴったり♪ 『スノーマン&鏡餅』










★日程2★ 2014年1月27日(月)10:30-12:30  
※申込み締切は1月14日(月)
簡単だけどカワイイ♪ 『子パンダ』











講師は前田恵美さん(JLL 日本デコずし協会認定 マイスターインストラクター ブログはコチラ)です。先生もまた横浜に住む子育て中のママ(しかも4姉妹の!)です。ワークショップは日本語で進行します。(作り方などの当日の資料は日本語・英語で用意する予定です。)

★対象者★
国籍を問わず同じママ・プレママとして情報交換したり、デコ巻き寿司を体験してみたい方、是非ご参加ください!

★場所★
観環居(Kankankyo)
今回の開催場所として、大変ありがたいことに積水ハウスさんのスマート・ネットワークプロジェクト実証実験住宅をお借りできることになりました。日産本社のはす向かい、みなとみらいのビルの中にひっそりとたたずむ素敵な一軒家です。







アクセス】 みなとみらい線「新高島駅」3番出口より徒歩1分又は、JR「横浜駅」そごう側出口より徒歩7分程度



★当日のスケジュール(予定)★
10:30-11:00 受付開始、保育預け、観環居さんのご紹介ビデオ(5分ほど)、自己紹介等
11:00-12:00 巻き巻きしながら交流
12:00-12:30 試食しながら交流
12:30-12:45 保育お迎え、終了

★料金★
1,000円/回 
(食材・材料費、レシピ代、保険料等を含みます。当日現金にて支払い下さい。)

★保育(特定非営利活動法人 はぐっと)★
無料 
保育に関するヒアリングシートや当日の持ち物等は別途ご案内させて頂きます。

★定員★
各回16名 (定員を超えた場合は各締切日に抽選となります。予めご了承ください。)

★お申込方法★
氏名(ふりがな)、お住まいの区、電話番号、メールアドレス、希望日(両日でも可)
保育希望の方は子どもの氏名(ふりがな)・年齢をメールでお送り下さい。
3日以内に折り返し確認の連絡(基本メールにて)をさせて頂きます。

宛先:imcy.info【at】gmail.com (【at】を@に変更してください。)

★その他★
食べられないもの、アレルギー等のある方は教えてください。
(酢飯、のりは基本的にどの回にも使用しますが、苦手な方はお教えください。)

IMCYは、日本語を話さず、情報を入手しにくいママ向けに英語での子育て情報をこのブログやFacebookで提供・共有している子育て中のママによる市民活動団体です。2013年の3月に発足して以来、ネット上での情報提供・情報交流に力をいれてきました。今後はさらに国籍を問わずママたち同士や地域がつながることができる場をワークショップやイベント等を通して創っていきたいと考えています。

※この活動は、「にこまち助成金」の交付を受けています



 

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

[EVENT] Yokohama Farming and Green Festival 3rd November 2013

Place: Yokohama City Environmental Activity Support Center, Yokohama Jido Yuenchi park, and Yokohama Municipal Children's Botanical Garden.
These facilities are next to each other (The botanical garden is in Minami-ku, but just across the road from the park.) There is also the Common Wealth War Cemetery Yokohama next to the Jido Yuenchi Park, which is nice place to visit.
*There is a parking for 50 cars, but as there will be a lot of visitors on that day, we are requested to come by public means of transportation.

Larger Map


Date and hours: 3rd November 2013, 10:00-14:00 (-15:00 at the botanical garden for children)
Schedule (in Japanese)

Canceled in case of storm.

<Yokohama Farming and Green Festival 2013> at Jido Yuenchi Park
















Reaping experience of vegetables, craft workshops (wood, acorns, pressed flower etc.), food stands (yakisoba, pork soup, sausages etc.), fresh vegetable market, garbage/firefighter truck presentation etc.

<Yokohama Stockbreeding Festival 2013> at Yokohama City Environmental Activity Support Center


Food stands, sales of Yokohama pork and beef, eggs, ice-cream etc... everything from Yokohama.
Some photos from the official website (the link is below).
The milking experience machine.











There will be some cows.











Yokohama porc / beef.










Yakitori (Yokohama Chicken)

Source: Official site of Yokohama City (in Japanese)

<Thanks Giving of Fallen Leaves> at Yokohama Municipal Children's Botanical Garden

Herb tea, dried flower wreaths, fruits (kaki) etc... The original rose of Yokohama, Hamamirai will be sold.











Official site (in Japanese)