Kia Ora,
I have recently returned from the 35th anniversary celebrations of the Seattle Christchurch Sister City Association. The Seattle delegation was well taken care of by our counterparts in Christchurch. We had both a double decker bus tour and a walking tour of the City. It was good to see how things are coming along. The beautiful restoration of the Isaac Theatre Royal, and the shipping containers made into cheerful shops were highlights. We visited the cardboard Cathedral and saw the scaffolding on the Arts Center as it is being fixed. The Mayor of Christchurch, Lianne Dalziel attended many of the events as did the US Ambassador to NZ, Mark Gilbert, and his wife Nancy. The Mayor and Ambassador dedicated a lamp from Seattle as part of the Solidarity Grid where there are street lights from many countries around the world. We also planted a tree at the Sister Cites Gardens. The relationship between Seattle and Christchurch is now stronger than ever.
April Events
There are several events happening in April. Please mark your calendars for the following events.
April 8th - 10th - The Pacific Rim Gymnastics Championship will be held at Xfinity Arena in Everett. New Zealand gymnasts will be competing including Courtney McGregor, Mackenzie Slee and Charlotte Sullivan. For tickets and information please visit www.pacificchamps.com or www.xfinityarenaeverett.com
As an aside there are NZ athletes competing for the University of Washington in Seattle. Grace and Phoebe Spoors from Christchurch are on the Women's rowing team, and Sam Timmins from Dunedin will be playing on the men's basketball team starting in September as he just enrolled at the University this quarter.
April 16th and 17th - Once again we will be participating in the Seattle International Children's Friendship Festival at the Seattle Center. If your child is 15 or under and would like to help with the New Zealand table please contact our coordinator Artemiza Woodgate at artemizawoodgate@hotmail.com We will need people to be at the table during the times of the festival 11am to 5 pm.
If you can do a shift with your children that would be great! Also if you have any things for the New Zealand table please let Artemiza know. - Children's books, artifacts, etc are needed. This event needs lots of volunteers so please help if you can. Over 40 countries are represented at the festival. For information about the Festival please see the flyer at the top of this email.
April 22nd - This is the date for the annual ANZAS Dinner.
April 24th - ANZAC Day is on Monday April 25th. We will be commemorating it on Sunday April 24th. Once again there will be a dawn service at MOHAI on South Lake Union. In the evening there will be a commemoration at the Hotel Nexus in the Northgate area of Seattle. The speaker will be Robert Klatt who was at Gallipoli for the 100th Anniversary of the Battle of Gallipoli last year. If others would like to speak please let me know. nzersofseattle@outlook.com An invitation will be coming later.
Other things happening this summer include the New Zealand artist Rangi Kipa being the artist in residence at the Evergreen State University Longhouse for three months. Also the New Zealand WOW - World of WearableArt - will be at the EMP for an extended stay from July 1st 2016 until January 3rd 2017.
Our Hangi will be on Saturday July 23rd.
Please visit and "like" our facebook page www.facebook.com/NZdersofSeattle?ref=hl
Hope to see you at some of these events.
Rachel Jacobsen
