Stories of Courage: Beyond the Lens—Artists Sharing Stories invited local Colorado artists and community leaders to find inspiration in the stories of the Portraits of Courage veterans, as well as to share their own personal stories of courage. The evening began with an Aztec blessing of the land by musician and composer, Asia Fajardo-Diamond.  Soprano Margaret Ozaki Graves reflected upon the portrait and story of Hawaii veteran Tom Yamada with a traditional Japanese poem and song, singer-songwriter Adam Estacio paid tribute to local veteran and fellow East H.S. alumnus, Sam Terasaki, with a  rendition of Bruce Springstein’s ‘No Surrender’.

African drummer Fatu Henderson lead the group in a drum spiral workshop and shared her own person story of courage - followed by moving stories from visual artist and community leader Stephanie Tanny, Asian Pacific Development Center (APDC) Executive Director Harry Budisidharta and Vietnam refugee and immigrant Ivy Ha.  The evening’s program concluded with a reflection statement from artist Jamie Laurie (also known as Jonny 5 from the Flobots), accompanied by Courtney Ozaki on the Japanese taiko drum.