FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 5, 2024

 

CONTACT:
[email protected]
(323) 662-5102

 

56th Annual Manzanar Pilgrimage: Truth, Justice and Democracy

Bus Transportation Available from Downtown Los Angeles & Gardena

 

LOS ANGELES — The Manzanar Committee has announced that the 56th Annual Manzanar Pilgrimage is scheduled for Saturday, April 26, 2025, at the Manzanar National Historic Site. The theme of the 2025 Pilgrimage is Truth, Justice, and Democracy. The 2025 Manzanar At Dusk program will also be held following the 56th Annual Manzanar Pilgrimage. Bus transportation to the Pilgrimage will be available from Downtown Los Angeles and Gardena (registration information below).

 

Manzanar was the first of the ten American concentration camps in which more than 125,000 Japanese Americans and their immigrant parents were unjustly incarcerated during World War II.

 

People from all walks of life attend the Manzanar Pilgrimage each year, including students, teachers, community members, clergy and former incarcerees. Planning is underway for this year’s program. The Pilgrimage is free and open to the public. No registration or reservation is required to attend.

 

For the daytime Pilgrimage program, cultural performances will begin at 11:30 AM, while the main portion of the program begins at 12:00 PM and runs until around 2:00 PM.

 

Bus transportation is available to the Manzanar Pilgrimage from Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo and Gardena. Buses will also take participants to the Visitor Center at the Manzanar National Historic Site following the Pilgrimage afternoon program and will return to Southern California that evening. Anyone wishing to attend the Manzanar At Dusk program that evening should make other transportation arrangements.

 

Reservations for bus transportation will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. Complimentary fares are available for those who were incarcerated at any of the former American concentration camps or other confinement sites during World War II.

 

To reserve seats on the Little Tokyo bus, fill out the form at: https://forms.gle/trwh2evCijytggLv6

 

To reserve seats on the Gardena bus, fill out the form at: https://gvjci.wufoo.com/forms/qjhlap81lonaup/

 

The 2025 Manzanar At Dusk program will follow the afternoon Pilgrimage program, at 5:00 PM PDT (location to be announced).

 

Now in its 27th year, Manzanar At Dusk is co-sponsored by the Nikkei Student Unions at California Polytechnic University Pomona (CPP), California State University Fullerton (CSUF), Cal State University Long Beach (CSULB), the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), the University of California Riverside (UCR), and the University of California San Diego (UCSD).

 

Every year this event is made possible thanks to the generosity of many volunteers. Those interested in volunteering at the Manzanar Pilgrimage are invited to fill out this volunteer interest form: https://forms.gle/U5tvJvhioFeWGcXw8

 

Further details about the 56th Annual Manzanar Pilgrimage and the 2025 Manzanar At Dusk program will be announced at a later date.

 

Both the Manzanar Pilgrimage and the Manzanar At Dusk program are free and open to the public. For more information, call (323) 662-5102, or send e-mail to [email protected].