Okinawa Living Weekly by MCCS Okinawa

May 4, 2017 · mccsokinawa.com

photo courtesy of Sevendust

his year’s Camp Schwab Festival will take place Saturday, May 13 and Sunday, May 14 from 1 to 9 p.m. adjacent to the BeachHead. This annual festival welcomes all service members, their families and Japanese citizens to partake in a weekend of festival food and fun with attractions for all ages. There will be Fun Land rides and bouncers, game booths, Oculus Rift virtual reality and delicious cultural foods from Okinawa as well as delectable offerings from MCCS. Hungry festival-going revelers can enjoy USA staples such as sizzling burgers from Bulldogs, succulent BBQ beef brisket and juicy chicken from Hickory House All-American BBQ, pizza and wings and more! Patrons 20 years of age and older can enjoy refreshing adult beverages from Kanpai Lounge.

inside

A great entertainment lineup will be on tap throughout the weekend including a FREE performance by alternative metal band Sevendust on Saturday at 7 p.m. and local metal band Bodysonic performing Sunday at 3:45 p.m. Schwab Festival will also feature more laidback fare including reggae and variety from Hawaiian native Shar Carillo, more island “melody ‘n riddim” from American Idol alumni Eli-Mac and Hawaiian reggae from Rebel Souljahz. All three acts will be performing both days. Admission to the Camp Schwab Festival is FREE and open to all SOFA status and Japanese citizens island wide. No one will be admitted with pets, outside alcohol, glass bottles, coolers or backpacks. FREE shuttle buses will provide transportation to and from designated parking lots on

Kinser Triathlon | 3 Camp Schwab Warrior Challenge | 3 Culture Corner: Urashima Dinner Theater | 5 Japanese Phrase of the Week | 5

Sevendust performing LIVE! the base. As always, MCCS encourages everyone to drink responsibly and to not drink and drive. Daiko and taxi services will be available. Festival attendees are encouraged to enter through Gate 2. For more information, call 098-970-5828, visit mccsokinawa.com/festivals or visit MCCS Special Events on Facebook at facebook.com/ mccsokinawa.specialevents.

Pick of the Week: Red, White and Craft Brew | 7 Spring into Action | 9 Off-Base Events | 11 Semper Fit Events | 11

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livingatlarge

Kinser Triathlon

et ready to make your heart start pounding! The Kinser Open Triathlon is right around the corner and, if you think your mind and body can handle the challenge, MCCS Semper Fit wants to know how fast you can go. This won’t be the standard Olympic distance, but a sprint triathlon. A sprint triathlon consists of a 400-meter swim, a 25-kilometer bike ride and a 5-kilometer run. This event will be held at the Camp Kinser Fitness Center and pool on May 21. Participants must register by May 15 at any MCCS Fitness Center for $30. This event is open to participants island-wide. Awards will be given to first, second and third place winners in each division as well as overall male and female winners. T-shirts will be given to the first 100 participants. A mandatory participants’ brief will be

held the day of the event at 7:45 a.m. at the Kinser Pool. For more infor-

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mation, contact the Kinser Fitness Center at 637-1869. Questions? Comments? Please e-mail OLW@okinawa.usmc-mccs.org.

events&happenings

Camp Schwab Warrior Challenge

To advertise in Okinawa Living Weekly, call 645-2245, fax 645-0975, or email sales@okinawa.usmc-mccs.org. MCCS is not responsible for designing and editing outside ads. No Department of Defense, U.S. Marine Corps or Marine Corps Community Services endorsement of commercial advertisers or sponsors implied.

From top to bottom: Thomas Alan Smilie, Dean Drobot/bigstock.com

nother 5K fun run. You can do these in your sleep and hardly break a sweat. You don’t even need your “good” playlist to zip through one of these. But the Warrior Challenge is a little different. Even though it’s a 5K, it’ll require the endurance of a 15K at least. You will find yourself battling obstacles throughout this ruthless stroll including sand pits, hurdles, walking planks, tires and more. The Warrior Challenge will start at the Camp Schwab Aquatics Center on May 13 at 10 a.m. with a mandatory safety brief at 9:45 a.m. Register now at any MCCS Fitness Center by May 8 for $30 per person, or $75 per team of three. Late registration will be taken at the Camp Schwab Power Dome Fitness Center on May 12 until 4 p.m. or onsite from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. Must be

15 or older (participants ages 15 to 17 must have a signed waiver). For more

information, call 645-3521 or visit mccsokinawa.com/semperfit. This publication printed with

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japanese phrase

culturecorner

of the week

Boushi suki desu. I like hats.

Thomas Alan Smilie

For details about FREE Japanese language classes, please call Marine & Family Programs-Resources at 645-2104/2106.

Urashima Dinner Theater

ibrant bingata costumes, carefully painted faces and precise movements—traditional Okinawan dance is an experience every person should have while living on Okinawa. The Ryûkyû Buyô dance performed at the Urashima Dinner Theater is very specific to Okinawa and dates back to the Shuri Kingdom. During the rule of the Ryûkyû Kingdom, you would have had to travel to Shuri Castle with an invite in tow to observe these dances reserved for the Ryûkyû royalty. The Ryûkyû Buyô dance consists of eight dances in one. Some are classical and others are performed with the taiko drums. If you’ve missed the opportunity to see these dancers delicately balance the hanagasa (the red flower hat) atop their heads while in unison playing the yotsu dake, the small wooden instruments the dancers

deftly wield with their fingers, now is the time to see this uniquely Okinawan event in action. The Urashima Dinner Theater tour, offered nearly every month through MCCS Tours+, will take place on May 12 from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. Tour-goers can enjoy an evening of performances while delighting in traditional Okinawan cuisine or an American dinner.

Adults are $68 with a half lobster meal, or $54 without the lobster. Children ages 4 to 12 are $38 and children up through 3 years old are FREE with no meal. The tour price includes the dinner and show; bring yen if you would like to purchase extra drinks. To schedule your spot on this tour contact your nearest Tours+ office, or go to mccsokinawa.com/tours.

If you have any burning questions about Japanese culture, please send them to OLW@okinawa.usmc-mccs.org.

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more info

pickoftheweek

In order to “Protect What You’ve Earned,” bus transportation will be available. Designate a sober driver, keep extra cash on hand to pay for a taxi, or call the daiko service number listed on the back of your SOFA license.

Red, White and Craft Brew

or many people, enjoying a nice cold beer after a long day at work is a pleasant way to unwind and data-dump the day’s trials and tribulations. For others, sipping a beer can be a transcendental experience. For example, when lifting a pint of heffevizen to your lips, are you thinking, “I happy I’m done with work today,” or “I can’t wait to see if the banana or clove taste is more prominent.” If you are inclined to think the latter, open your calendar and save the date. MCCS cordially invites adult SOFA ID card holders and their authorized guests to the Red, White and Craft Brew event on Saturday, May 27 from 3 to 9 p.m. at the Butler Officers’ Club. Featuring craft brew masters from the Okinawa Octoberfest Committee, this first-time-ever event will also feature excellent food pairings and LIVE entertainment. Tickets are $40 and are available at the Butler Officers’ Club, Kinser

Surfside and Ocean Breeze on Camp Foster. Included in the ticket price, are 20 drink vouchers—each equivalent to $1—which can be used for tasting pours from vendors, or a full-on purchase of any craft beer offering. More beverage tickets will be available for purchase for those

Clockwise: milosluz/bigstock.com, Yastremska/bigstock.com, Sarah Head

photooftheweek

Check out our self-service iPour beverage station at the festivals.

wishing to indulge in the many offerings from local craft brewers. This is a limited-entrance invite and tickets will be selling quickly. For more information, call the Butler Officers’ Club at 645-7530, or visit mccsokinawa.com/craftbrew.

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spotlight

information Your local MCCS Education Center has a ton of information for service members and their spouses about higher education. Call or stop by to speak with an education officer today! Schwab Education Center 625-2046 Hansen Education Center 623-4376/3013 Courtney Education Center 622-9694 Foster Education Center 645-7160 Futenma Education Center 636-3036

Sarah Head

Kinser Education Center 637-1821

Spring into Action

ith each household move, military spouses are afforded the opportunity to reinvent themselves. Many times, the geographic location of their spouse’s duty station limits the education and career possibilities, and spouses may feel stuck. Living on Okinawa is a great example of this, as very few come here able to speak fluent Japanese; and as many know, jobs on base are limited and the hours may not support family obligations. MCCS Marine and Family Programs-Resources understand the challenges military spouses face trying to attain an education and establish a career. There are many questions associated with applying for and financing an education, how to choose a lucrative yet flexible career path and more. Camps Foster, Kinser and Courtney are each hosting a seminar to address these and other

questions spouses may have. Are you looking to finish high school and take the next step toward higher education? Did you know spouses of active status service members E1E5, O1-O2 and W1-W2 are eligible to apply for up to $4,000 in tuition assistance from MyCAA? Do you need direction in matching your strengths with a career path? This seminar is for you! Let the experts with the MCCS Education Centers help you “Spring into Action!” This FREE seminar is specifically

for spouses to provide information about Spouse Education and Career Opportunites (SECO), grants and scholarships available to spouses of military members. The Camp Foster Education Center seminar is May 11 from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Camp Kinser Education Center is hosting their seminar May 12 from noon to 1 p.m. Camp Courtney’s Education Center is May 16 from 11 a.m. to noon. For more information, call 6457160/3486, or go to mccsokinawa.com/ educationandcareerservices.

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tours+

adventure begins here Shuri Castle & Naha May 6, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. Adults $23, Children (3–11) $16 Children (under 3) FREE Tour the only fully reconstructed castle on Okinawa. Afterwards have lunch in Naha and spend the rest of the afternoon at the beautiful Fukushu-en Garden and Naminoue Shinto Shrine. Pizza in the Sky & Nakijin Castle May 6, 9:30 a.m.–5 p.m. Adults $23, Children (3–11) $16 Children (under 3) FREE Overlook the ocean as you enjoy delicious pizza and salad. Afterwards, stop by Nakijin Castle to learn the history of the Ryukyu Islands.

Fun Day at Hotel Nikko Alivila & Zanpa Point May 7, 10:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. Adults $45, Children (7-12) $30, (4-6) $22 (under 4) FREE Start the day at the famous Cape Zanpa Lighthouse. Break for lunch at the four-star Hotel Nikko Alivila, and then finish the day relaxing on the beach. Watch as flamenco dancers grace the hotel’s lush floral courtyard or shop at the Yachimun Marche (pottery market). Tea Ceremony with Kimono Dressing May 13, 10 a.m.–4 p.m. Adults $49, Children (3–11) $38 Take part in a traditional tea ceremony that includes the preparation and presentation of matcha, the customary green tea served in Japan. Continue the experience by discovering the history behind kimonos and dressing in a traditional Japanese kimono.

*Bring yen for additional food, drinks and/or purchases. For more information, contact MCCS Tours+: Camp Foster 646-3502 | Camp Hansen 623-6344 | Camp Kinser 637-2744

off-baseevents get out and explore

Peace Memorial Park Carp Streamer Festival May 4–7, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. Peace Memorial Park, Itoman City FREE

Proud sponsor of MCCS Youth Sports

Athletics/Adult Sports

Thomas Alan Smilie, DJM4/bigstock.com

645-3521/3522

Aquatics 645-3180 Courtney Ironworks 622-9261/7297 Futenma Semper Fit 636-2672 Gunners Fitness Center 645-3985/2235 Hansen House of Pain 623-5558/4831 Health Promotion 645-3484/3910 Kinser Fitness Center 637-1869/1114 Schwab Power Dome 625-2654/2442 Taiyo Golf Club 622-2004 Tsunami SCUBA 645-9500 Youth Sports 645-3533/3534

Naha Hari Dragon Boat Races May 4–5, 10 a.m.–9 p.m. Naha New Port Wharf, Naha City Contact Tours+ for details

Tengan River Carp Streamer Festival May 5, 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Tengan River, Uruma City FREE

upcoming semperfitevents Open 6 vs. 6 Soccer Tournament May 12–14 Camp Schwab Power Dome Fitness Center Register at any MCCS Fitness Center by May 8 at 1 p.m. for $100. This event is open to teams island-wide. Top three teams will receive awards. Details: 625-2654.

Volleyball Tournament May 26–28 Camp Foster Fieldhouse Register at any MCCS Fitness Center by May 22 at 1 p.m. for $100. This event is open to teams island-wide. Top three teams will receive awards. Details: 645-4866/3003.

classof theweek Cycle This indoor cycling class is an effective cardio and strength workout with a variety of course settings including hill climb, downhill, rolling hill, flat, headwind/tailwind and more. Camps Courtney, Foster, Hansen, Kinser & MCAS Futenma. For more information and a full schedule, visit mccsokinawa.com/groupfitness