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2A Sunday, January 21, 2024 The Times, Gainesville, Georgia I gainesvilletimes.com Japan’s imperial family hosts a poetry reading focused on peace Yohei Fukai Kyodo News via AP Japan’s Emperor Naruhito, from left, Empress Masako, Crown Prince Akishino, Crown Princess Kiko and their daughter Princess Kako arrive at an annual celebration of poetry at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, Friday, Jan. 19. Masako expressed her yearning for peace as a mother’s love in her poem Friday at an annual celebration of poetry at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. BY YURI KAGEYAMA Associated Press TOKYO — A mother's love and a yearning for peace flowed from Japa nese Empress Masako's poem, read Friday at an annual celebration of poetry at the Imperial Pal ace in Tokyo. The poem sings of how Masako was touched by what her daughter, Prin cess Aiko, wrote after her school trip to the southern Japanese city of Hiro shima, which was devas tated by an atomic bomb in the closing days of World War II. Starting the new year with poetry is part of Japanese culture. The gathering at the palace is believed to have begun in the 13th century, accord ing to the Imperial House hold Agency. Among the guests wearing suits, kimono and other formalwear were people who had won awards for their own poems. Various works writ ten in traditional “waka” style were presented Fri day, solemnly read aloud in a sing-song way, like a chant, as the imperial family watched. Waka — literally meaning Jap- anese-style song — is short-form poetry that usually follows a 5-7-5- 7-7 syllable format. Aiko's poem depicted her fascination with the waka form, which she has studied at Gakushuin Uni versity. She marveled at how the art has survived a thousand years, which she imagined to include deep human suffering. Emperor Naruhito's poem affirmed the idea of peace by describing see ing the smiles of all the people during his travels throughout Japan. Naruhito — grandson of the wartime emperor Hirohito — and his family are fairly popular, greeted by waving crowds wher ever they go. The emperor does not have political power, but he carries symbolic significance for Japan. Naruhito's father, Akihito, abdicated in 2019. The move is rare for a Japanese emperor, whose reign typically ends upon death. The official translation of Masako's poem reads: “How moved I was to read / My daughter's deep feel ings for peace / After her first visit / To Hiroshima.” THANKYOU FOR READING EVENTS Georgia Art League Winter Exhibit. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays through Feb. 26. Quinlan Visual Arts Center, 514 Green St. NE, Gainesville.470-272-3010, mela- nievaughanl33@gmail.com. Free. Painting with Purpose I Amanda Lovett OPA, AWA. 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Jan. 20. Quinlan Visual Arts Center, 514 Green St. NE, Gainesville. 770- 536-2575, qartscenter@gmail.com. $425 - $. Lionel Cole Quintet. 8 to 10 p.m. Jan. 20. The Arts Council Smithgall Arts Center, 331 Spring St. SW, Gainesville. 770-534-2787, info@ theartscouncil.net. $40. Art as Therapy: Zentagles. 11 a. m. to 1 p. m. Jan. 20. Quinlan Visual Arts Center, 514 Green St. NE, Gainesville. 770-536-2575, info@QVAC. org. $40. Kids’ DIY-U Workshop: My First DIY Toolbox. 10a.m. to 1 p.m. Jan 20. Lowe’s Flome Im provement, 1514Skelton Road, Gainesville. Free. Grandeur Tour & Tasting. 4 to 6 p.m. Jan. 22. Chateau Elan Winery & Resort, 100 Rue Char lemagne Drive, Braselton.$90. Adult Brain Teaser Week. 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Jan. 22-27. Flail County Library System, Gainesville Branch, 127 Main St. NW, Gainesville. 770- 532-3311 ext. 4011, gkoecher@hallcountyli- brary.org. Free. Building Savings and Wealth. 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Jan. 22. Flail County Library System, Gainesville Branch, 127 Main St. NW, Gainesville. 770- 532-3311 ext. 4011, jcl i ne@ha I Icou ntyl i brary. org. Free. Pinnacle Homebuyer Class. 6 to 7 p.m. Jan. 22. Murrayville Branch Library, 4796Thompson Bridge Road, Gainesville. 770-532-3311. Exploring Watercolor 1.9 to 11:30 a.m. Jan. 23, 30. Quinlan Visual Arts Center, 514 Green St. NE, Gainesville. 770-536-2575, INFO@QVAC. ORG. $150. Caffeine and Octane Lanier Raceway. 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Jan. 26. Caffeine and Octane’s Lanier Raceway, 5301 Winder Highway, Braselton. ONGOING Alzheimer’s Caregivers Support Group. 5:30- 6:30 p.m. first Tuesdays of the month. Grace Episcopal Church, 422 Brenau Ave. NE, Gaines ville. 727-409-6608, charlenebestdewitt@ gmail.com. Free. Card workshop. 10a.m.to 1 p.m.first Satur days of the month. Hall County Library System, Gainesville branch, 127 Main St. NW, Gaines ville. 77 0-532-3311 ext. 4011, gkoecher@ hal Icou ntyl i bra ry.org. Discovery Saturdays. 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. second Saturdays of the month. Elachee Nature Sci ence Center, 2125 Elachee Drive, Gainesville. 770-535-1976. $3-$5. Ekphrasisforthe Masses. Noon to 1 p.m. sec ond Tuesdays of the month. Quinlan Visual Arts Center, 514 Green St. NE, Gainesville. 770-536- 2575, info@qvac.org. Free. Gainesville Lacers. 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. third Saturdays of the month. Hall County Library Publish your event Don’t see your event here? Organizers can go to gainesvilletimes.com/ calendar and submit their events for publication online and in print. Click the “+Add event” button at the top right and follow the prompts to add information and a photo. Events publish at the editors’ discretion. See more Go to gainesvilletimes.com/calendar for the full interactive calendar of events throughout the region. System, Gainesville branch, 127 Main St. NW, Gainesville. 770-532-3311, gkoecher@hall- countylibrary.org. Gentle Yoga. 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.second, third and fourth Wednesdays. Blackshear Place Branch Library, 2927 Atlanta Highway, Gaines ville. 770-337-1572, dl9345@bellsouth.net. Free. Georgia Cross Stitchers. 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. second Saturdays of the month. Hall County Library System, Gainesville Branch, 127 Main St. NW, Gainesville. 770-532-3311 ext. 4011; gkoecher@hallcountylibrary.org. Free. Gold Rush Quilting Guild. 10 a.m. to noon first Wednesdays of the month. Friendship Baptist Church, 3513 Westmoreland Road, Cleveland. alenekempton@gmail.com. Hip Hop Class Wednesdays. 4-5 p.m. (3rd to 5th Graders) through May 15. Gainesville Bal let Company, 971 Riverside Drive, Gainesville. 770-866-5353, info@gbcdance.com. $88. Homeschool Day. 10a.m.to 12 p.m.third Thursdays of the month. Elachee Nature Sci ence Center, 2125 Elachee Drive, Gainesville. 770-535-1976. $15. Ice Skating at Sugar Hill. Through Feb. 17. The Ice Rink at Sugar Hill, 5039 W. Broad St., Sugar Hill. Music Bingo. 7 to 9 p.m. every Thursday. NoFo Brew Co. Gainesville, 434 High St. SW, Gaines ville, topher@nofobrew.co. Free. Northeast Georgia Writers. 1-3 p.m. first Wednesdays of the month. Gainesville Down town Library, 127 Main St. NW, Gainesville. talltaleswriter@gmail.com. Free. Tea with Jane Austen: A Reading Group. 3-4 p.m. fourth Fridays of the month through No vember. Hall County Library System, Gainesville Branch, 127 Main St. NW, Gainesville. 770-532- 3311 ext.4011,gkoecher@hallcountylibrary. org. Free. Trivia Night. 7-9 p.m. Tuesdays. NoFo Brew Co Gainesville, 434 High St. SW, Gainesville, to- pher@nofobrew.co. Free. Turning Leaves BookClub. ll:30a.m.tol p.m. first Wednesdays of the month. Linwood Nature Preserve Ecology Center, 415 Linwood Drive, Gainesville, karin.hicks@uga.edu. War Stories Book Club. 4-5 p.m. second Fridays of the month. Murrayville Branch Library, 4796 Thompson Bridge Road, Gainesville. 770-532- 3311 ext. 171. Free. FULL ACCESS WITH YOUR SUBSCRIPTION Our local news team, the largest in Northeast Georgia, works each day to bring you honestly local news delivered in several different platforms. 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Find us on these platforms or reach out to our newsroom at news@gainesvilletimes. com or 770-718-3435. TODAY IN HISTORY AP Photo President-elect Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn Carter join President Gerald Ford as they prepare to leave the White House on their way to the Capitol for inaugural ceremonies in Washington on Thursday, Jan. 20, 1977.The next day President Jimmy Carter pardoned almost all Vietnam War draft evaders. On this date: In 1793, during the French Revolution, King Louis XVI, condemned for treason, was executed on the guillotine. In 1915, the first Kiwanis Club, dedicated to community service, was founded in Detroit. In 1942, pinball machines were banned in New York City after a court ruled they were gambling devices that relied on chance ratherthan skill (the ban was lifted in 1976). In 1950, former State Department official Alger Hiss, accused of being part of a Communist spy ri ng, was fou nd gu i Ity in New York of lyi ng to a grand jury. (Hiss, who proclaimed his innocence, served less than fouryears in prison.) In 1977, on his first full day in office, President Jimmy Carter pardoned almost all Vietnam War draft evaders. In 2003, the Census Bureau announced that Hispanics had surpassed blacks as America's largest minority group. In 2013, a day after being inaugurated for a second term in a private ceremony, President Barack Obama took a public oath, summoning a divided nation to act with “passion and dedi cation” to broaden equality and prosperity at home, nurture democracy around the world and combat global warming. In 2022, the FBI said Brian Laundrie, the boy friend of slain cross-country traveler Gabby Petito, had admitted to killing her in a notebook discovered near his body in a Florida swamp. She (Times gainesvilletimes.com A Metro Market Media Publication © 2023, Vol. 77, No. 14 Sunday, January 21.2024 HOW TO REACH US 345 Green St. N.W., Gainesville, GA 30501 P.0. 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Periodical postage paid: USPS 212-860 Delivery problems call (770) 532-2222 SINGLE COPY The Times is available at retail stores, newspaper racks and at The Times for $2.00 Midweek Edition and $2.00 Weekend Edition For our digital subscription offerings, go to gainesvilletimes.com/subscribe ENTERTAINMENT Atlanta Opera updates PucciniVLa Boheme’for the coronavirus pandemic ATLANTA — The Atlanta Opera will present a staging of Puccini's “La Boheme” updated to the coronavirus pandemic as part of its 45th anniversary season, running it in tandem with Jonathan Larson's “Rent.” Both works will be on the same set and include action among the audience, the company said Friday. Company general director Tomer Zvu- lun and designer Vita Tzykun will co produce the two shows, which will run in tandem from Sept. 18 through Oct. 6 at the 600-capacity Pullman Yards. There will be back-to-back performances on Sept. 29. “Rent” premiered in 1996 and is based loosely on Puccini's “La Boheme,” first per formed in 1896. Zvulun's new production of Wagner's “Siegfried,” part of a contemplated Ring Celebrity birthdays Opera singer-conductor Placido Domingo is 83. Actor Jill Eikenberry is 77. Country musician Jim Ibbotson is 77. Singer-songwriter Billy Ocean is 74. Actor Geena Davis is 68. Basketball Hall of Famer Hakeem Olajuwon is 61. Actor John Ducey is 55. Actor Karina Lombard is 55. Actor Ken Leung is 54. Rock musician MarkTrojanowski (Sister Hazel) is 54. Rock singer-songwriter Chan Marshall (Cat Power) is 52. Rock DJ Chris Kilm- ore (Incubus) is 51. Actor Vincent Laresca is 50. Singer Emma Bunton (Spice Girls) is 48. Actor Jerry Trainor is 47. R&B singer Nokio is 45. Actor Izabella Miko is 43. Actor Luke Grimes is 40. Ac tor Feliz Ramirez is 32. Cycle, will run from April 26 to May 4, 2025, at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre and star tenor Stefan Vinke in the title role, Lise Lindstrom as Brtinnhilde and Greer Grimsley as Wotan. Atlanta's season at the 2,750-capacity arts center also will include Mozart's “Die Zau- berflote (The Magic Flute)” from Nov. 2-10, Verdi's “Macbeth” from March 1-9, 2025, and Handel's “Semele” from June 7-15. Associated Press
