FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 21, 2016
Contact: Katie Vane
802.734.0617
Mayor Weinberger Welcomes Mayor Reynaldo Francis and Puerto Cabezas Delegation to Burlington
Sister City Visitors Will Learn about Community Garden and Cooperative Farm Projects throughout Vermont
Burlington, VT – Mayor Miro Weinberger will welcome Puerto Cabezas Mayor Reynaldo Francis, Vice-Mayor Anicia Matamoros, and Executive Director Rodolfo Spear to Burlington on Tuesday, June 21 during a six-day visit to learn about Vermont’s exemplary community garden and cooperative farm projects. The municipal administration in Puerto Cabezas plans to begin an incubator project giving vegetable seeds to women in its communities so they can produce vegetables both for sale and for the improvement of the nutritional value of family meals. While in Vermont, the delegation will observe local food growing models, from urban cooperative farms to small neighborhood garden projects.
“We welcome Mayor Reynaldo Francis and the Puerto Cabezas delegation to Burlington,” said Mayor Weinberger. “We look forward to sharing Burlington’s knowledge of cooperative farming and neighborhood gardens, knowing it will benefit communities in our sister city. These visits allow Vermonters and Nicaraguans a unique opportunity to explore mutual interests from different perspectives, and forge connections that strengthen our historic ties to Puerto Cabezas and our Nicaraguan friends.”
Burlington began its sister city relationship with Puerto Cabezas, a city of 60,000 inhabitants located on Nicaragua's remote North Atlantic coast, in 1984. Over the years, Burlington has sent material and humanitarian aid to its sister city, including agricultural supplies, educational materials, computers, video equipment, wheelchairs, and fire-fighting tools. Official, educational, and cultural exchanges between the two cities have involved mayors, firefighters, drug-abuse counselors, photographers, visual artists, folk singers, college students, and entire Little League baseball teams.
Mayor Weinberger, along with former Mayor Peter Clavelle, will be hosting a reception for the visitors in Contois Auditorium on June 21 at 3pm. Also participating in the afternoon ceremony will be Burlington City Councilors, Department Heads, CEDO, and others involved with the sister city program. This will be an opportunity for Burlingtonians to meet the group from Puerto Cabezas and learn more about the sister city program. For more information, visit www.uvm.edu/sistercity.
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