Highland Park Meets Its Sister City
From July 14th through the 20th, the Highland Park Sister Cities Foundation hosted a delegation from its sister city, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. The “Cultures United by Music” exchange was complemented by a continuation of its “Sister Cities Architects’ Exchange.”
Highland Park and Puerto Vallarta have been sister cities since 2002. The two cities have built a strong relationship based on mutual respect. Among the many exchanges that have taken place are soccer and baseball tournaments, jazz festivals, gourmet events, music exchanges, artist exchanges, civic exchanges, and educational programs.
July’s “Cultures United by Music” exchange was a great success. The Highland Park Sister Cities Foundation has been donating musical instruments to the Puerto Vallarta youth orchestra. For the event, they invited two cellists and two violinists, along with their director, to attend workshops at Bravo Waukegan and the Midwest Young Artists Conservatory.
The delegation also included architects from Puerto Vallarta, local government officials, and a representative from the federal government.
Mayor Nancy Rotering greeted the delegation at City Hall. The Mayor expressed her support for the Sister Cities program for “bringing political and business leaders, arts and cultural representatives, educators, and technical experts together to promote cross-cultural understanding and opportunity.”
In addition to City Hall, the group toured of the firehouse, police department, library, high school, and clinic. The delegation attended classical concerts at Millennium Park and the Ravinia Festival. In addition to touring Chicago and visiting the Art Institute, the guests had the opportunity to take an architectural tour on the Chicago River. On Friday night, our guests enjoyed a private dinner with the Counsel General of Mexico in Chicago, Carlos Jimenez.
The city of Highland Park is graced with many gifts from the people of Puerto Vallarta: the whale sculpture in the center of town; several pieces of indigenous Huichol beaded art and samples of the clothing worn by indigenous Mexican children at the library; and a mural and two hand painted benches at the high school.
Highland Park has two other active sister cities programs: Modena, Italy and Yerucham, Israel. The Highland Park Sister Cities Foundation won Sister Cities International’s “Best Overall Program” award in 2015.
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