Sister Cities United Youth


The youth of Sarasota have set up a Facebook Group to improve and enhance communication among the young people interested in Sister Cities programs.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/791343517655019/



Tel Mond Dancers Performance Feb 17 and Luncheon Feb 19



Feb 17, 2016  7:00 pm

Riverview High School
1 Ram Way
Sarasota, FL 34231


Click to Purchase Tickets at: 

http://jfedsrq.org/events







Mail Check to:

Hope Byrnes
5031 Faberge Place
Sarasota, FL 34233

For More Details contact Hope at:

hpbyrnes@comcast.net


Payment by Credit Card:

sarasotasistercities.org/pmts.htm

(If you pay by credit card please send Hope your reservation info:  
Name, Phone, Email, and  Food Choice (vegetarian or salmon) 






Chinese Films

Thursday Night Film Series at Ringling College
if your film interests extend to classic and foreign films in general, you may be interested in the Thursday Night Film Series at Ringling College, held in the Auditorium in the first floor of the  Academic Center (same building as our Chinese films).  This series is free and all are welcome.  A pdf of the schedule is attached.

2012 Chinese Film List: A Guide for American Viewers
a reminder that you can access and download the pdf of Carolyn Bloomer’s 2012 Chinese Film List on the chapter web-page of the US-China People’s Friendship Association 
http://www.uscpfa.org/chapters.html .  This list has nutshell descriptions of about 125 Chinese films, and is intended to help people select films to rent or buy for home viewing or for group showings and discussions.  It will be updated every few years.


Yours,
Carolyn Bloomer





Hamilton, Ontario

Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Sister Cities Since: 1990

Hamilton is a deep sea port city of 520,000 at the west end of Lake Ontario, midway between Toronto and Buffalo. It lies at the geographic center of a densely populated and industrial region known as the Golden Horseshoe. Host to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame, it boasts a growing arts and culture community of local art galleries and recording studios. It has been the site of numerous independent film productions.


George Hamilton, a settler and local politician, established the town site in 1815. In 1877, the first telephone service and exchange in Canada began operating here. After a long history as a manufacturing hub, since the 1960’s the economy has shifted more toward the services sector, such as transportation, education, and health care. A 2001 amalgamation created a single-tier municipal government, ending subsidization of its suburbs by incorporating 100 old neighborhoods and surrounding communities.

Hamilton’s climate is humid-continental, characterized by changeable weather patterns. However, its meteorology is moderate compared with most of Canada. Its major physical features include a natural harbor with a large sandbar the native Neutral Indians called Macassa, meaning “beautiful waters.” The Niagara Escarpment runs throughout the middle of the city across its entire breadth, bisecting it into “upper” and “lower” parts. More than 100 waterfalls and cascades descend on or near the Bruce Trail hiking path that winds through these bluffs. The book Green City: People, Nature, & Urban Places showcases the municipality as one of eleven examples of a former industrial powerhouse co-creating with nature.

The place has a high population of people with Italian, English, Scottish, German, and Irish ancestry. Nearly one in five report a Scottish background. 20% of the local population was not born in Canada. It also has a large French community, to whom the province offers services in their language. In 2014, the city’s council voted to declare Hamilton a sanctuary city, providing municipal services to undocumented immigrants at risk of deportation. One geodemographic marketing firm foresees a future city with younger upscale Hamiltonians who are tech savvy and university educated choosing to live in the downtown and nearby areas rather than just visiting intermittently.

The most important economic activity in Ontario is manufacturing. With sixty percent of Canada’s steel being produced in Hamilton, the city became known as the Steel Capital of Canada. U.S. Steel has recently closed down its local operations, but Dofasco remains one of North America’s most profitable and sustainable steel companies.

Hamilton is home to several post-secondary institutions. McMasters University has around 30,000 enrolled students. Mohawk College teaches applied arts and technology to 10,00 full time and 40,000 part time pupils. Brick University maintains a satellite teacher education campus in town. The Dundas Valley School of Art has an all-ages student body close to 4000, with a faculty and staff of highly regarded regional artists. The Hamilton Conservatory for the Arts is home to talented young actors, dancers, musicians, singers, and visual artists.

Two major art museums reside here, as do two think tanks. Hamilton has quite an active theater scene, featuring the professional Theatre Aquarius and two amateur companies. Many smaller troupes have also appeared in the past decade. Several new and established arts centers and galleries, plus the growth in the downtown condo market, have spurred creative activities in the core.

Canadian Football League and Major League Lacrosse professional franchises head a list of local hockey, soccer, rugby, and baseball teams. There are two auto racetracks and a half-mile harness race course. Hamilton co-hosted with Toronto the 2015 Pan Am Games and plans to continue its fight for a National Hockey League berth.

Since 1957, Hamilton has partnered with seven Sister Cities, including in the United States Flint, Pittsburgh, and Sarasota, along with towns in Italy, India, Japan, and China.

WINE TASTING January 27th from 6 to 8pm



We had an outstanding wine tasting Meet and Greet.  Our thanks to Treviso City Director Anna Madaschi for putting the event together.  Great job. 









WINE TASTING - MEET AND GREET

On January 27th from 6 to 8pm

Sarasota Sister City will feature wines from the Treviso Region of Italy

Come and taste wonderful Prosecco, white, red wines and appetizers

at

The Sarasota Wine Bar

On

1528 Main Street

Sarasota, Florida


Annual Meeting April 5 11:30 at the Sarasota Yacht Club - Election of Officers



Our annual meeting will be held on

Tuesday April 5, 2016

Sarasota Yacht Club

Election of Officers / Annual Report


Click for Google Map Directions - Enter Your Address



The Highland Games Jan 30, 2016

Celebration of Robert Burns on January 23rd, 2016, 5:00 pm

SHARE AN IMMORTAL MEMORY,

AT THE 257TH BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION OF
ROBERT BURNS


Held at the elegant LAUREL OAK COUNTRY CLUB
on Saturday, January 23rd, 2016, 5:00 pm
the St. Andrews Society of Sarasota and
the Burns Club os St. Andrews
welcomes you to a celebration of
Scotland's cherished bard, "Rabbie" Burns.


For reservations, information and details please contact
Capt. Carl A. Morris USN (ret) (941) 355 -3028.




Info@sarasota Sister Cities (3) January 7, 2016

Unlike the New York Times, this is SOME of the news that’s fit to print….
 
DUES RENEWAL, LAST CALL
          The 3rd and last dues renewal notice will be sent in the next few days.  “Bring thee all the tithes into the storehouse!”  We want you with us in the coming year!
 
UPDATE ON CRUMBLING SISTER CITY PLAQUES IN BAYFRONT PARK 
          Todd Kucharski, Manager of Public Works for Sarasota, has agreed to have the city realign & reposition all the tree plaques at their cost. SCAS can also have new signage on posts at the two ends of the walk, listing our sister cites with our mission & goals. SSCA will need to cover the cost of the new signage and the replacement plaque for Vladimir. 
          Ray Young met with the Artisan sign company and they have prepared a prototype of the new signage, which he will send to the board for approval next week. Artisan will produce the signage & plaque and do all the installation.  We will also have an expert cleaning of all the plaques.  Stay tuned for further updates.
 
A TALENTED SISTER CITIES MEMBER YOU MAY NOT KNOW:  DR. JOSE TORRES
          Our faithful member Dr. José Torres was one of ten foreign experts in Xiamen awarded the Egret Friendship Award in 2015.  This award is given every two years to foreigners who make outstanding contributions to China’s economic and social progress.
          The Egret Award has been given to just 48 foreign experts since 2004, mainly from the U.S., Canada, Japan, Russia, Singapore, and Malaysia.
          Even though Dr.. Torres’s legal address is Little Elm, Texas, and he is working abroad most of the time, he maintains his membership with SCAS and friendship with Sarasota, and he updates us on his efforts periodically.
          Dr. Torres is a Keuka College (New York) professor who has taught marketing, international business law, organizational behavior, leadership, and strategic management for the last six years at Jimei University in Xiamen, China.  Jimei U is approximately the same size as Xiamen University. He also teaches on occasion at Vietnam National University in Hanoi.
          Great work, José Torres! 
 
SISTER CITIES UNITED YOUTH
          Morgan Bortz, the CYD representative who serves on SCAS’s Board, has been working with our VP of Education Ray Young and other local students to create a forum where local high school students would connect with students from our Sister Cities in order to share their  unique culture,  experiences and form lasting friendships.
          They plan to have monthly Skype conversations with the foreign students.  At the beginning of each month, to stimulate conversation, questions would be distributed to participating students in our Sister Cities.  At the end of the month, after time for reflection, they would discuss the question with each other via Skype.
          At the end of the first year, the experience would be evaluated.  There would also be an attempt to find a way for all the students to meet face-to-face.  The logistics of finding students in our Sister Cities around the world, creating the multi-person Skype session across time zones, and asking thoughtful but culturally sensitive questions will add to the learning experience.
 



Calendar of Events - All SCAS Members & General Public Invited

Feb 17 - 7:00 pm Tel Mond Dancers Performance 
Feb 19 - 11:30 to 1:00 pm Tel Mond Luncheon

Mar 6 - 11:30 am One World Award Luncheon
Mar 16 - 4:00 pm Presentation on France, followed by a Meet and Greet

April 5 - 11:30 am Annual Meeting Sarasota - Yacht Club
Apr 20 - 4:00 pm Presentation on Polynesian Cultures of the South Pacific
     
        Scroll down for more info on each event

All the Scoop that is fit to print and some that is not:

Web          sarasotasistercities.org
Blog          sarasotasistercities.com (This is our on line newsletter)
Pinterest   pinterest.com/sarasotasister

You can Post Directly to the sites below:

Sister City Flags










Suzdal Near Our Sister City Vladimir, Russia


A delegation from Sarasota visited our Sister City of Vladimir, Russia.  Our hosts took us to Suzdal, a very lovely community near  Vladimir.  They hosted us to a memorably dinner overlooking this valley. It was outside, extending from 6 to 11pm. It was not dark yet when we left. We walked down to the lovely church in next to the River which was being restored.

Meet and Greet Wine Tasting Jan 27, 2016



We have converted our Wine Tasting Event 

to a normal Meet and Greet Event

WINE TASTING

On January 27th Wednesday from 6 to 8pm

 Your Treviso Region of Italy

at

The Sarasota Wine Bar

1528 Main Street

Sarasota, Florida

A sample of Treviso wine will be offered.


* We did not get enough people signing up to do the $25 event. Those who did pay will get their money refunded.




Social Marketing Report January 2016

As you know we have an aggressive Social Marketing Effort.  We spread the word on our Newsletter Blog: sarasotasistercities.com

We encourage the Board and all of our members to join us on:

Facebook  facebook.com/SarasotaSisterCities
Twitter       twitter.com/#!/SarasotaSisterC
LinkedIn    
linkedin.com/in/sarasotasistercities


You can post information and photos and interact with others on these systems.

You can reach all of these systems from our web site:


Web          sarasotasistercities.org 

We have a nice history of our organization on:


We have numerous photos and some videos on our blog.

We use the Email         sarasotasistercities@gmail.com
and email our members and friends two or three times
a month depending on timing of events.

Send us an email if you would like to be added to our email list.