YAKIMA, Wash.- The Yakima Valley Museum will be adding two new exhibits this summer.
“We have one about life for Japanese Americans in the Yakima Valley and that’s Land of Joy and Sorrow, and then we also have one called: Quinceañera-Dancing Among the Clouds of Tradition, said Larissa Knopp, Director of Development and Board Relations for the Yakima Valley Museum. “And that one is a collection of modern quinceañera dresses from community members.”
The Quinceañera couture exhibit displays loaned Quinceañera gowns. Quinceañera is a Hispanic tradition of a girl’s 15th birthday, marking her passage from girlhood to womanhood.
According to the Yakima Valley Museum, The Land of Joy and Sorrow exhibit elaborates on Japanese families that immigrated to the United States, who chose the Wapato-Toppenish area of the lower Yakima Valley as the place to make a new life for themselves.
The Land of Joy and Sorrow exhibit is smaller than the older Japanese exhibition, however it has more information. The addition of audio has allowed the content of the display to be expanded.
The museum also has the Mountaineering Exhibit which is the most advanced exhibit attempted to date. Since its founding in 1951, the museum has compiled a collection of over 48,000 objects. The exhibits offer natural history, American Indian culture, pioneer life, Yakima’s local history and more.
“Oh, because we are sharing your story, right, said Knopp. “And as we move along it. Come in, see what you can see, tell us what you think you would like to see here. But it’s also an inexpensive way to get into some AC in the hot summer days. You can see yourself reflected in our exhibits here.”
The Quinceañera and The Land of Joy and Sorrow exhibits, will be on full display in mid-July. The Yakima Valley Museum is the biggest history museum in Central Eastern Washington.
For more information, visit Yakima’s History Museum website.
