2022 Distinguished Achievement Award

Mohonk Consultations Announces Recipient of 2022 Distinguished Achievement Award, Youko Yamamoto.

Mohonk Consultations is delighted to announce that our 2022 Distinguished Achievement Award Event celebrates Hudson Valley resident Youko Yamamoto, for her work as a peace activist, chef, and cultural ambassador. Each year, we hold our Distinguished Achievement Award ceremony at the historic resort, Mohonk Mountain House, celebrating an exceptional member of our community committed to protecting our ecological and human environment and who has improved the quality of life for residents of the Hudson Valley. This year’s event will take place in the Pavilion at Mohonk Mountain House on Sunday, June 5, 2022, 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm and will feature a Ceremony, performance, and Japanese buffet dinner. We will be treated to a performance by the Japanese Folk Dance Institute of New York and Burlington Taiko.

Purchase Tickets Here!

Youko exemplifies the spirit of community service through her work as creator and director of the Bon-Odori Dance Festival for Peace, which will celebrate its 12th year in the summer of 2022. For this annual event Youko gathers taiko drummers, dancers, survivors of Hiroshima, and the Hudson Valley community in a day-long commemoration and celebration. We will also honor Youko’s support of farmers in our region through her restaurants, Gomen Kudasai (New Paltz, 2008-2018) and Tanma Ramen (now open in Kingston); her offering of performance and exhibition venues to regional musicians and artists; and her creation of educational opportunities for students and teachers of calligraphy, ikebana, and the Japanese language.

Before moving to the Hudson Valley with her family in 2000, Youko studied at the Pratt Institute in New York City and worked as a graphic designer for Stan Adler Associates and Revlon International before opening her own design studio, Yamamoto Youko Graphics. She is married to metal sculptor Kazuma Oshita.

We celebrate Youko’s mission to cultivate peace, educate the public about the many dangers of nuclear proliferation, and nourish the body, mind, and spirit of our community through Japanese culinary and cultural experiences.

We are deeply inspired by Youko’s many contributions to building a strong, peaceful world dedicated to healthy foodways and a clean, safe environment. We hope you will support our program honoring this exceptional member of our community and, if you are available, join us up at the Mohonk Mountain House in June.

The event will be located outdoors at the Pavilion above Lake Mohonk, a short uphill walk from the Mountain House. Please give yourself an extra 30 minutes of travel time to enter at the gatehouse, drive to the parking areas, and walk up to the Pavilion.

Accessibility Notes:

Mohonk Mountain House has an accessible public entrance that can be accessed by car with optional valet parking, a lift on the back porch, and a wheelchair-accessible ramp leading to the Pavilion where this event will take place. Service animals for people with disabilities are welcome. More accessibility information about Mohonk Mountain House.

Speaker

Stuart Bigley is an artist based in New York’s Hudson Valley. He has been making and showing his paintings, drawings and photographs for over 45 years. He and his wife Helene Bigley co-founded and ran the Unison Arts Center in New Paltz, NY. Unison was proud to help Youko Yamamoto and Kazuma Oshita present the first Bon-Odori Dance Festival for Peace at Hasbrouck Park in 2010.

Livia Vanaver is co-founder, co-artistic director, and a performer with The Vanaver Caravandance company. For the past 47 years, Livia has been traveling throughout the U.S., and abroad with her musician/composer husband Bill Vanaver, and company of extraordinary dancers and musicians, collecting and performing traditional dance and music from many cultures. Ms. Vanaver holds a BFA in Dance from NYU School of the Arts (Tisch).

Livia taught dance at Columbia University in the Graduate Theater Program and currently teaches World Dance at Hofstra University. Ms. Vanaver was also one of the founders of Mountain Laurel Waldorf School in New Paltz, NY.