Glens Falls Chronicle Serving the Glens Falls/Lake George region; Warren, Washington and northern Saratoga counties since 1980
Chronicle Managing Editor Cathy DeDe writes: The City of Glens Falls will welcome its first Sister City exchange with Saga City, Japan, since before Covid.
Saga City Mayor Hidetaka Sakai and a 19-person delegation will be the guests at a welcome reception and banquet on Thursday, April 20 at the Queensbury Hotel. It’s open to the public. Start time is 6 p.m. Cost is $48. Call right away for reservations: 469-6845.
The event also celebrates the 35th year of the relationship that started in 1988.
“It is exciting,” said the organizer Millie Koh of Glens Falls.
Friday morning they visit Mayor Bill Collins and City Hall, tour the downtown including Crandall Public Library and have lunch downtown.
In the afternoon, they’ll visit the Warren County Municipal Center and, if there’s time, take a driving tour. Saturday is a free day with host families.
Sunday after breakfast, the delegation departs for a brief visit to Washington, D.C., before flying home to Japan.
The group is to arrive on April 18, for a day of sight-seeing in New York City before coming to Glens Falls, Mrs. Koh said.
“We are still being very cautious about Covid,” she said “We are asking everyone to test every day. We think it’s good timing to resume.”
Mrs. Koh said they aim to begin student exchanges in 2024, beginning with the Glens Falls School District.
Since 1988, said a program history, the Sister City program has had exchanges involving 600 junior and high school students from Glens Falls, Queensbury, Hadley-Luzerne and Saga; 230 college students from SUNY Adirondack and Saga City; and adult delegations of more than 200 elected officials and leaders from both communities.
Fourteen balloon teams from Saga City have attended the Adirondack Hot Air Balloon Festival. Four teams from here have flown in Saga’s Balloon Fiesta.
Most recently, in 2019, 12 Saga College students and a chaperone were hosted by SUNY Adirondack; 20 Hadley-Luzerne students and five chaperones traveled to Saga City; and Saga City sent a balloon team to the Adirondack Balloon Fest.
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