Ciao Everyone!
What a great team you are! Your enthusiasm and willingness to help made 2008 a very good year for our Seattle-Perugia Sister city Association. Thanks to all of you who helped us with events and to so many of you who came to dinners and receptions and other events - your support year in and out makes SPSCA possible.
The last President's report covers the exciting days in Perugia last summer: the unveiling of the Sister Orca sculpture, the annual Sister City Market in Piazza d'Italia, and the celebration of SPSCA's 15th Anniversary there.
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Some highlights: Locchi and the official delegation, which included Perugia Council members Lorena Pesaresi and Armando Fronduti. exchanged gifts with Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels (shown at left), and also had a good discussion and lunch with several Seattle Council members and Intergovernmental Relations Director Emelie East. (Many thanks always to Emelie, to Sister City Coordinator Tsering Yuthok, and to Keith Orton of OIR for all they do to sustain our sister city relationships)
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Emanuele Bizzarri, showing off the photo at his Caffe` Umbria (right), is a native son of Perugia who now roasts coffee under the name Caffe` Umbria. (Coffee is a Bizzarri family tradition - the photo shows a van owned by his grandfather, Ornello, delivering coffee in Assisi. Emanuele's father, Umberto, founded Torrefazione Coffee in Seattle. ) This morning visit was a bit of Umbria during the four day stay, and we're sure it was the best coffee!
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The delegation, right after Caffe` Umbria, visited the Salish Arts Exhibit at Seattle Art Museum, ate a quick lunch, and then toured the new Duwamish Longhouse along the Duwamish River in West Seattle (right). Mayor Locchi has a keen interest in Native American art and history. The curator of the SAM exhibit, Barbara Brotherton, gave Locchi and the others a personal tour. The Locchi delegation wanted some "American" food, so Debbie Jaeger and her friends, Smoker and the Bandits, put together a classic western Barbecue at our home. We can still taste that barbecue sauce!
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The Locchi delegation wanted some "American" food, so Debbie Jaeger and her friends, Smoker and the Bandits (left), put together a classic western Barbecue at our home. We can still taste that barbecue sauce!
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On the Saturday night of the visit, at Farestart, many of you were with us to celebrate together the 15th Anniversary of the Seattle-Perugia Sister City friendship (right). Gifts for a raffle that night came from Borracchini Foods, from EatItalian Style Corporatio, and Poggibonsi Gifts of Burien.
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 Paola and Bane Kuvac at 15th Anniversary Dinner |
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During dinner, Mayor Locchi and Seattle City Councilman Nick Licata spoke of the relationship between the two cities; Elisabetta Valentini, President of the Perugia-Seattle Sister City Association, talked about her vision of artistic exchanges between the two cities; and, in a joyful moment, the two mayors at the beginning of the Seattle-Perugia friendship, Norm Rice and Mario Valentini, stood together (right) and remembered their first meeting. It was a grand celebration of our history with Perugia, and a great kickoff for the next 15 years. |
 Mayors Valenti and Rice, who signed the original Sister City Agreement in 1993 - Daniela Borghesi translates. |
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On the last day of the visit, Mayor Locchi and members of the delegation visited the UW campus, meeting Dean of Arts and Sciences Robert Stacey, and lunch at the Faculty Club at a lunch hosted by the Department of Italian Studies. So we begin the next 15 years, with many of you carrying on this work, making friends in Perugia and Seattle, visiting Umbria, improving your Italian at Universita` per Stranieri, imagining new ways to exchange ideas, art and culture, and always, keeping the people to people, person to person, family to family, and city to city vision alive and well. Thanks always for your enthusiasm and support. We are grateful to the Renaissance Madison Hotel in Seattle for helping us with accomodation for our many guests. Thanks as well, and always, to our rock of support in Perugia, Daniela Borghesi, Director of the Perugia Office of International Relations. E un abbraccione! A presto, Mike James, President |
