Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard - Press Release - Little Tokyo, Downtown Los Angeles – Photos: The opening ceremonies for the 68th Annual Nisei Week Festival, a celebration of Japanese and Japanese American culture and history..

(July 13, 2008) Little Tokyo, Downtown Los Angeles – Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard participated in the opening ceremonies for the 68th Annual Nisei Week Festival, a celebration of Japanese and Japanese American culture and history. The opening ceremonies were held at the Pavilion in the Japanese American National Museum on 369 East First Street in Little Tokyo. Donning traditional Japanese “Hapi” robes, the congresswoman joined the Consul General of Japan Junichi Ihara and Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael Antonovich in the “breaking of the sake barrel” ceremony. Sake is a Japanese liquor made from fermented rice. Once the barrel is opened, the sake is then served to the audience and followed by a festival toast. Pictured in the second photo, the congresswoman poses with festival mascot, Aki (short for Akita dog), and Ms. Frances Hashimoto, Executive Board Member and Past Chair of the Nisei Week Foundation and president of Mikawaya, a bakery in Little Tokyo.