Sister Village Ceremony in Shelburne Falls

Posted on May 31, 2007 By Hilltown Families

SISTER VILLAGE IN CHINA

Join the residents of Buckland and Shelburne Falls, MA, on June 4th – 6th, 2007, in a ceremony with a Chinese Delegation to formally establish the Sister Village relationship between Shelburne Falls, MA, and Mutianyu.

Residents of Buckland and Shelburne and interested members of the general public are invited to attend the official ceremony establishing the sister village relationship between Shelburne Falls and Mutianyu. The ceremony will be held on Monday, June 4, from 12:00-12:45pm at the Shelburne Buckland Community Center, located at the corner of Main and Church Streets, Shelburne Falls.

During the ceremony the Memorandum of Understanding establishing the sister village relationship will be signed by town officials on behalf of the villages of Shelburne Falls and Mutianyu, formalizing what the organizers believe is the first sister village relationship between a village in China and a village in America.

Other opportunities for residents to welcome delegation members and take part in the festivities on Monday, June 4, include the following:

10:30am – Bridge of Flowers: Beginning at approximately 10:30am the delegation will visit the Bridge of Flowers.
1:30pm – Children’s Art Museum: At 1:30pm at the Children’s Art Museum, art supplies will be out, come and make art that will be displayed at the Schoolhouse in Mutianyu. We will also learn some about China and our sister village. Come make art or bring art to present. There is no “fee” for this event but a donation to CAM would be appreciated. Suggested $3 per child. All children welcome. Please come in a festive mood. Bring a photo of your children to be made into a collage.
2pm – Shelburne Falls Trolley Museum: From 2:00-3:00pm the delegation will visit the Shelburne Falls Trolley Museum and have a ride on Trolley Car No. 10, followed by a visit 2:30pm to the Children’s Art Museum, where an exchange of artwork by local children and children from China will be made.

ABOUT MARY LYON FOUNDATION:

The Mary Lyon Foundation is a community-based 501(c)3 non-profit organization which supports all aspects of quality public education in the nine rural western Massachusetts towns of Ashfield, Buckland, Charlemont, Colrain, Hawley, Heath, Plainfield, Rowe and Shelburne. The Foundation has been involved in developing and supporting the Shelburne Falls – Mutianyu sister village relationship from its outset.

ABOUT THE SCHOOLHOUSE AT MUTIANYU

The Schoolhouse is an American-invested enterprise established on the premises of an abandoned elementary school in Mutianyu. The investors, including Julie Upton-Wang, principal proponent of the Shelburne Falls-Mutianyu sister village relationship, are long-time American residents in Beijing whose interest in rural tourism arose from two of the principal investors’ experience of becoming the only long-term foreign householders in the village.

FOR MORE INFORMATION