Sister Cities of Durham
Sister Cities of Durham, Inc. PO Box 767; Durham, NC 27702
The PayPal "Donate" Button can be used for (1) Donations & Event Fees; (2) Dues; (3) City Committees; (4) Youth
COMING EVENTS
Aug 28: Castle Theatre, Durham University in Durham, England presents
Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream", 2:00, Monday, Aug. 28, Main Public Library
Oct 8: International Food Truck Festival, 12 - 4, Sunday, Oct. 8
Hosted by City Committees of Sister Cities: Kavala-Greee; Celaya-Mexico; Tilaran-Costa Rica
-- 2023 Annual Meeting, 5:30 - 7 pm, Friday, Oct. 20 or 27 at City Hall
We invite you to join us with our programs linking Durham to the World.
Options: 1) Join as a general member to support all SCD programs,
2) or become involved with one of our City Committees.
Information about membership is below.
And Consider Donating to support our programs with our PayPal Button.
You are invited to see Castle Theatre of Durham University in England perform Shakespeare's
"A Midsummer Night's Dream", 2 pm, Aug 28, Main Library
The event is sponsored by the Durham, UK City Committee of Sister Cities.
This group of university students will also perform at the
Durham Center for Senior Life, and at Croasdaile Village
Hosted by the Durham, UK City Committee of Sister Cities of Durham as part
of Durham's Sister City partnership with Durham, England.
See their beautiful flyer below.
2:00 pm, Monday, August 28 at Durham County Main Library Auditorium
Delegation to Kavala, Greece, June 27 - July 5, 2023
Photos from Kavala Visit, L-R: Top: 1) Board member Lusia Li, Kavala Comm Chair Randy Griffin, Simon Gu 2) Visiting City Hall;
3) Randy Griffin brought Durham Mayor's greetings to Kavala's Deputy Mayor Georgios Michailidis;
4) Kavala committee hosted our delegation for a special Greek dinner.
L-R: Bottom Row: 1) Meeting with leaders of Kavala committee; 2) Lunch with Kavala and Durham students;
3) Visit to the UNESCO site, Philippi; 4) Kavala's Tobacco History Archive is a partner with Durham's Tobacco Museum.
Two Durhams Beer Festival
was a great success, 1,500 attendees. June 9, 2023 at Durham Central Park
Here is a 3 minute video of the 2022 Festival
https://youtu.be/OdF9bifPKxQ
Featured at the Festival:
Live Music with String Break,
Food Trucks, Souvenirs
Pictured Below:
L-R: Top, 1& 2) Sister Cities of Durham Tent and Information Station,
# 3) Bull City Burger and Brewery,
# 4) Fullsteam.
L-R: Bottom, 1) Glass Jug Brewery,
#2) Ponysaurus Brewery,
#3) Starpoint Brewery,
#4) Sister Cities/Durham flying our flag
Two Durhams Beer Festival June 9, 2023
Durham, NC Breweries
-- Bull City Burger and Brewery
-- Fullsteam
-- Glass Jug Beer Lab
-- Ponysauris Brewery
-- Starpoint Brewery
They partnered with Breweries in Durham, England to share recipes, and brewed beers based on recipes from their partner breweries in England.
Durham, UK Breweries:
-- Caps Off Brewery
-- Full Circle Brew
-- Steam Machine Brewing
-- Three Brothers Brewery
-- Yard of Ale Brewery
Take a Look at Our Gallery of Pictures of the Two Durhams Beer Festival
We invite you to Volunteer for our programs. You can help with any one of our programs.
Will you consider being a Volunteer for Sister Cities and help us build mutual understanding and cooperation with our International Partners?
You do not need to be a member to be a Volunteer at one of our Festivals or other projects.
Volunteers Needed For These Events:
1. Assist with the SCD booth at Centerfest, Sept. 16 - 17, where we feature international art representing
our Sister Cities. And we share information about Sister Cities of Durham.
-- Set up on Saturday morning; Staff the Booth for 2 hour shifts Sat or Sun; Close the booth on Sunday.
2. Assist with the Castle Theatre student group from Durham University, England, Aug.27 - 30.
They are a Shakespeare group performing "A Midsummer Night's Dream" throughout England.
For the program at 2:00, Monday at the Main Public Library, help as an usher or with refreshments.
3. Assist with the "International Food Truck Festival", 12 - 4, Sunday, October 8.
The Festival will be at Durham Central Park, and will feature international food trucks, Music,
Beverage stations.
If interested in being a Volunteer: contact Brady Surles, Office Manager, hbradysurles@gmail.com
Durham's Sister Cities:
Our Sister Cities of Durham partnerships around the world are signed by the Mayor of Durham and the other respective Mayors.
Check out our Sister Cities with the tab above,
to go to their page on this website.
Celaya in Mexico
Durham in England, UK
Kavala in Greece
Sibiu in Romania
Tilaran in Costa Rica
Toyama in Japan
Zhuzhou in China
Note: On Aug. 15, 2022, Durham City Council voted to "suspend" relations with Kostroma, Russia, based on concerns about Russia's invasion of Ukraine, based on the recommendation of the Sister Cities Board of Directors. The SCD Board suspended the City Committee on Dec. 1, 2022.
Durham also has two Friendship Cities in China:
Kunshan and Xianning. We are excited to share a photo program from our Friendship city - Kunshan!
Durham's other international connections represent these countries with restaurants, businesses and associations in Durham:
Argentina; Brazil; Colombia; Cuba; El Salvador; Ethiopia; France; Germany; Guatemala; Honduras; Kenya; Korea; India; Ireland; Italy; Jamaica; Mongolia; Nigeria; Peru; Philippines;
Scandinavian countries -- Norway; Sweden; Denmark;
Sierra Leone; Spain; Thailand;
Ukraine; Vietnam; Zimbabwe
Our Peace Grove at
Durham Central Park
In partnership with the Park, we planted 9 Overcup Oaks in January, 2021 to represent our Sister Cities. These trees are already providing much needed shade for Park visitors. These oak trees are very sturdy and can survive in difficult conditions.
Plans are underway to develop signage for the Sister Cities trees, in partnership with Durham Central Park.
We have exchanges in the areas of Education,
the Arts, Medicine, Local Government, Business
Click on the Cities below for more information.
And we have programs that include all our Sister Cities, such as:
1) International Festivals
2) Library Presentations,
3) Tea Tastings,
4) Peace Grove at Durham Central Park.
5) Durham's annual holiday parade in Dec.
6) High School Exchange Programs
7) Hosting local government officials
8) International Art Booth at Centerfest
Our City Committees have unique programs, such as:
Durham, UK: Two Durhams Beer Festival
Toyama: Video conferences with students in both countries.
Arusha: Partnering with a school in Tanzania
Kavala: HS students going to Kavala for a student exchange
Zhuzhou: Videos of cooking from both cities,
Celaya & Tilaran & Kavala: hosting an International Food Truck Festival.
Durham connects world wide with cities on almost all continents. Our Festival of Nations introduces you to Durham's international links
Sister Cities of Durham participates in many city wide events, including Library Presentations, City Hall displays, Durham Holiday Parade. Pictures below -- participating in the December, 2021 Durham Holiday Parade:
Come join us and participate in a City Committee, our Festival of Nations, or as a general committee member.
Here are opportunities to be involved in the programs and activities of Sister Cities of Durham:
1. Membership information is below on this home page.
2, Volunteer to serve on one of our City Committees -- Click on the City in our list on the left to see more about each Sister City. .
3. Volunteer to help with our Annual Festival of Nations.:
-- Planning and/or Day of the Event.
4. Help with our Centerfest booth, Sept 17 - 18, which focuses on international art representing our nine Sister Cities
4. Join one of our other regular committees:
-- Marketing
-- Governance
-- Technology/Social Media
-- Membership
-- Festival of Nations
-- International Food Festival
-- Fund Raising
Contact Brady Surles, Office Manager, for more information: hbradysurles@gmail.com
Use the PayPal "Donate" button for Membership Dues, Festival Fees, Donations
We appreciate your support of our programs for International Awareness and Exchanges in education,
the Arts, medicine, business, local government. These help Durham connect to cities around the world.
To Donate, or to pay Membership Dues:
-- Use the PayPal button at the top of the page.
-- Or By Check, mail to: Sister Cities of Durham; PO Box 767; Durham, NC 27702
Our Board of Directors:
Board of Directors Meetings, 2022, Locations TBA
President:
Vice Pres:
Secretary, Acting:
Treasurer:
At Large:
At Large:
At Large:
At Large:
At Large:
At Large:
Arusha:
Celaya:
Durham, UK:
Kavala:
Sibiu:
Tilaran:
Toyama:
Zhuzhou:
Non-Voting:
Tom Harris
Chris Boyer
Brady Surles
Min Shu
Bob Ashley
Gwenn Bookman
Sue Mathias
Susanna Ochola-Love
Patricia Sheppard
Min Shu
Ronda Pierce, Gwenn Bookman
Elsa Jimenez
Nancy Proia
Randy Griffin
Mitch Scurtu
Melissa Perez
Yuki Temma
Lusia Li, Mark Goodwillie
Dot Borden, Life Time Director
9 am, Jan 29, Planning Retreat, Zoom
7 pm, March 3, Zoom
7 pm, May 5, Zoom
7 pm, July 7, Zoom
7 pm,, September 1, Zoom
5:30 pm, October 14, Annual Meeting
7 pm, November 3
City Committees usually meet monthly or bi-monthly.
Board Committees usually meet bi-monthly
(Marketing, Membership, Governance, Fundraising, Technology, Festivals Committees meet as needed for planning.)
If you are interested in participating in any of these meetings, please contact SCD Office Manager Brady Surles hbradysurles@gmail.com
Coming Events, 2023:
Discussions are taking place about these possible projects with all our Sister Cities
-- High School Exchange Programs-Kavala
-- Tea Tastings
-- Photography Exchanges
-- Food Recipes Exchanges
-- Trips to some of our Sister Cities
More information later.
Pictured above is our sign at Durham Central Park.
Our Vision:
We strive to develop a peaceful world, with mutual cooperation and understanding, one person and one community at a time.
Our Mission:
We partner with the City of Durham to organize and promote Sister Cities activities for Durham residents and to establish international Sister Cities relationships.
At our Annual Meeting, Oct. , we will present a summary of the activities and programs of our City Committees and the general organization during this past year.
We also present 2 Awards:.
-- The Annual SCD/Mayors Award for "Promoting International Understanding" to both individuals and organizations in the Durham community.
-- The Annual "Dorothy Borden" Award to SCD members for long term contributions to Sister Cities.
Note: Some of our programs have been postponed because of the Coronavirus. Hopefully our in person programs will resume in the near future. However, we still maintain our conversations with our friends around the world -- Come join us! Zoom enables us to link globally in more meaningful ways than ever before.
What do we do ? Join us in these activities.
-- Educational Exchanges with high schools, college students, educational professionals.
-- Exchanges with artists and musicians.
-- Exchanges with medical personnel.
--International Festivals.
-- Peace Grove at Durham Central Park.
-- Sister Cities Quilts displayed in City Hall.
-- Hosting virtual meetings with our Sister Cities to develop friendships, better understanding.
-- Participating in Durham's Holiday Parade.
-- Presentations in the Library's Public Forums.
Plans are developing.
We appreciate the support of our partners:
City of Durham and the Mayor's Office
Durham Public Schools
Center for the Global Learner at DTCC
Durham County Public Library
Durham Central Park
Durham Arts Council
Duke Garden - the Asiatic Arboretum
Sister Communities of San Ramon, Nicaragua
Duke Homestead and Tobacco Museum
Carolina Friends School
Central Park School for Children
Carolina China Council
Triangle Community Foundation -- Sister Cities of Durham
Endowment Fund for International Understanding
Pictured: Durham students welcome visiting students from our Sister Cities at RDU airport.
MEMBERSHIP
We invite you to join us in Sister Cities of Durham to promote a greater understanding of Durham's international connections.
Annual Membership Dues per Calendar Year:
-- Family Membership $35
-- Individual Membership $20
-- Student Membership $10
-- Business/Educational Group $150
Also Life Time Membership $300
Payment for Membership Dues can be made:
-- on our PayPal button on this page;
-- or Mail checks to:
Sister Cities of Durham
PO Box 767; Durham, NC 27702
Thanks for supporting Sister Cities of Durham
Here are opportunities to be involved in the programs and activities of Sister Cities of Durham:
1, Volunteer to serve on one of our City Committees -- See the list of our Sister Cities.
2. Volunteer to serve on one of our Board Committees
3. Volunteer to be a host family for our international visitors......
4. Volunteer to assist with tours for our international visitors.
2. Help with our next Festivals
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