(Photo courtesy of Bend Belluno)
Celebrating Youth, Culinary, Sports & Travel Exchanges
This community celebration is August 8 at the Bend-Belluno Sister City Plaque next to Greg’s Grill in the Old Mill District. The activities begin at 5pm with music by The Summit Express (Italian) Jazz Band with a special outdoor bar set up by Greg’s Grill.
A short celebration begins at 6pm with a focus on current exchanges between our communities including culinary, masters swimming, and the summer youth exchange with seven students from Belluno participating.
Belluno, Italy, is a similar sized community 35 miles north of Venice located at the base of the world famous Dolomites. Dozens of travelers from Bend have included Belluno in their Italian itinerary since 2011 when the two city councils formally supported the sister city relationship.
On a visit to Belluno it becomes easily apparent the many similarities between Belluno and Bend as our cities are both regional centers for government and commerce, as well as recreational communities with world class winter and summer activities. Both are blessed with amazing mountain views.
With the Bend-Belluno Sister City partnership, residents from each city are invited to learn firsthand through one-on-one relationships and reciprocal cultural exchanges the common issues the two communities share, in spite of cultural and language differences.
Angelo Paganin of Belluno, Italy goes further in speaking about our shared sister city activities “. . . and especially the students exchanges are a concrete opportunity to overcome stereotypes and barriers, especially in this period in which walls are built. It is an example to a real and deep knowledge between people, an opportunity of friendship and hospitality and a way to promote the natural beauties of each side as the slogan Bella Bend Beautiful Belluno states.”
Just a few of the organization’s multiple cultural exchange successes:
Monthly Italian cultural talks in Bend with special focus on the Dolomites.
Summer Youth Cross Cultural Exchange: Bend area high school juniors spend three weeks with a Belluno high school student, followed by a reciprocal three-week hosting of the Belluno student here in Bend. Thirty-six students have participated in the last four years.
Cascade Culinary Institute’s fall 2017 Belluno program offers Chef Wayne Yeatman and culinary students, Shannon Hodgen and Devon Thomas, a three-week culinary program under the auspices of Scuola Alberghiera, a vocational culinary school in Belluno province. Besides taking part in instruction, all three will participate in stage experiences in an agriturismo, a restaurant and a bakery, as well as professionally investigating eateries in Venice.
Laura Becker, who has been involved in the early development of both the summer student exchanges and the COCC Cascade Culinary Institute exchange, expresses these sentiments, “Any time you can connect students to real life learning opportunities in a foreign setting, much can be gained both for the individuals and the communities.
Educational travel changes lives,” Echoing her comments, Kit Carmiencke, long involved in exchanges, sees these exchanges develop and deepen into lasting relationships. “These are summer vacations that can last a lifetime.”
This event is open to the public and is supported by the Bend Sister City Foundation, Greg’s Grill, The Old Mill District and the Bend-Belluno Sister City Organization. To learn more about the sister city relationship with Belluno, Italy visit bendbelluno.org.
