Mountain Festival celebrates golden anniversary of Sister City bond
It started with an idea: To create community despite the ocean that divides us.
On Saturday, the sister cities Colorado Springs and Fujiyoshida celebrate the 50-year sister city connection with “The Fire Festival,” which is one of many events sponsored by the Colorado Springs Diversity Forum’s “Everybody’s Welcome: Mountain Festival.”
“The Mountain Festival is a unique way to celebrate all that we share with our Sister City,” said Dee Vazquez Sabol, Colorado Springs Diversity Forum board member at large. “Our natural environments, our sense of community, and our resilience. It will showcase the best of our two cultures.
“There is an amazing confluence of activities and occurrences around this year’s festival,” said Vazquez Sabol. “Fujiyoshida and Colorado Springs have a strong current of friendship that has grown even stronger through adversity, recovery, and a spirit of camaraderie.”
On the golden anniversary of this cultural, educational, and economic partnership between these two cities we look back on how it all began and how the bond is celebrated today.
SISTER CITIES
It started, in 1961, with a suggestion from the Denver Sister Cities organization to then Colorado Springs Mayor William C. Henderson. That and the similarity in scenery to Mt. Fuji set in motion a pact between Fujiyoshida and Colorado Springs. A group of local citizens, headed by Bill and Ruth Vandel, pursued the sister city idea and within a year, the two cities were linked. The Vandels stayed on as co-chairs of the first Colorado Springs-Fujiyoshida Committee.
Fujiyoshida and Colorado Springs made it official when Henderson passed a city resolution adopting the relationship in 1962. In a hand-penned scroll, officials in Fujiyoshida sent word of their acceptance saying, “We sincerely hope that this affiliation will develop our cultural and economic exchanges and that through the understanding and friendship of the citizens of both cities, we can ultimately contribute to the world peace.”
We’re not the only one in the Fujiyoshida family: The city formed another sister city relationship with the city of Chamonix, France in 1978. All three cities are connected by their proximity to famous mountains: Pikes Peak in Colorado Springs, Mont Blanc in Chamonix, and Mount Fuji in Fujiyoshida.
CORRESPONDENCE AND GIFTS
The Colorado Springs Downtown Rotary Club erected a torii gate funded by the organization to commemorate and honor the sister city relationship with Fujiyoshida on June 10, 1966. The gate was built on the grassy median located on North Nevada Avenue between Platte Avenue and Bijou Street in downtown. A plaque near the torii gate explains the purpose of the sister city relationship and promoting understanding between the people of the two countries and cities. Fujiyoshida sent Fuji cherry trees to be planted in Colorado Springs to commemorate the event. Many gift exchanges between the two cities have taken place in the 50 years of the sister city friendship. Early in the alliance, officials from Colorado Springs sent items for display at the annual Fujiyoshida fire festival, including bolo ties, gold aspen-leaf jewelry and aspen wood turnings.
As part of the sister city arrangement, the city of Fujiyoshida sends 16 junior high school students and two chaperons to Colorado Springs in August as a goodwill trip to tour the city and the area attractions. Area middle and high school students can participate in a penpal program. Fujiyoshida City currently employs three Colorado Springs natives as part of the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program.
TALE BEHIND THE FUJIYOSHIDA FIRE FESTIVAL
The fire festival has been held every year in Fujiyoshida for more than 500 years. The event celebrates and preserves the cultural folklore. The festival marks the end of summer and is an attempt to pay tribute to the Mt. Fuji goddess in hopes of prevention a volcano eruption.
The tale behind the festival’s origin starts with the goddess deity of Mt. Fuji becoming pregnant. To prove to her deity husband that she did not have an affair, she locks herself in a room and sets it afire. The goddess reasons to her husband that if the child lives, it will prove that the offspring is indeed his. Only a child of supernatural ancestry could survive. The triplets the goddess delivers into the flames live. To pay tribute to the goddess, the community burns large torches (called taimatsus) and parades through the streets.
COLORADO SPRINGS MOUNTAIN FESTIVAL
Colorado Springs Diversity Forum was founded in 2005 by a small group of civic leaders that came together to explore how diversity and inclusion can make a better community. Its strategy was to build on the positive work already, like the Sister City program, being achieved in Colorado Springs and contribute to the social and business structure of our city.
In March of 2010, the forum was selected as a partner in the Colorado Springs and Fujiyoshida sister city 50th anniversary celebration. The commemoration, which was dubbed the “Everybody Welcome: Mountain Festival,” is a celebration of culture and diversity and part of a week-long observance that features many events, including a Sister City exhibit at the Pioneers Museum, that honor the relationship. The festival also acts as a liaison between civic engagement and diversity, showcasing area performers and artisans. The events throughout the week combine a rich sampling of the sights, sounds, and tastes with the myriad of cultures that make up the whole of the community.
The Fujiyoshida Fire Festival Association will hold a special event at the Pioneers Museum from 2-3 p.m. Friday. They will share information about Fujiyoshida and talk about what the fire festival means to the community. Members of the association will also demonstrate how the taimatsu torches are constructed for the fire festival.
The highlight of the week is the “Everybody Welcome: Mountian Festival,” which is being held from noon-8 p.m. Saturday at America the Beautiful Park.
SOURCES: csfirefestival.com, sistercitycs.us, city.fujiyoshida.yamanashi.jp and gazettedev.gazette.com
THE EVENTS
Sister City Exhibit
This free expanded exhibit runs from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. until Sunday at the Pioneers Museum, 215 S. Tejon St., 385-5990, cspm.org.
Fujiyoshida, Local Museum of History Lecture & Workshop
Learn about the history of Fujiyoshida from Museum Curator, Mitsutoshi Fuse and Museum Assistant Section Chief, Kaneko Akaike from 1-2 p.m. Friday. It’s free but space is limited. Pioneers Museum, 215 S. Tejon St., 385-5990, cspm.org.
Hyakkimaru’s World of Kirie
Featuring Fujiyoshida, native and internationally recognized artist Hyakkimaru and his art of traditional Japanese paper cutting. Exhibit runs through Sept. 15. Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, 30 W Dale St., 634-5581, csfineartscenter.org.
Everybody Welcome: Mountain Festival
This showcase of diversity and local talent will take place from noon-8 p.m. Saturday at America the Beautiful Park, 126 Cimino Drive. The festival is focused around the celebration of the 50th anniversary of Colorado Springs’ sister city relationship with Fujiyoshida, Japan at 6 p.m.. Featuring musical performers, activities, artisans, ethnic food and dynamic expressions of Japanese culture. The Fujikaen Taiko Drummers will perform along with the Fujiyoshida Jr. High student chorale. It’s free. Call 331-7588 for details or go to csfirefestival.com.
Japanese Taiko Drum Concert – SOLD OUT
Featuring the Fujikaen Taiko Drummers and the Taiko Society of Colorado Springs from 2-5 p.m. Sunday. At Armstrong Theater, Colorado College, 14 E. Cache La Poudre St., 389-6607, coloradocollege.edu.
Latino Community Luncheon
Lt. Governor Joseph A. Garcia, Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Higher Education is the keynote speaker at this ticketed, RSVP event from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Wednesday. At the Crowne Plaza, 28886 S. Circle Drive. $18 in advance, $23 the day of the event. Call Mike Jackson at 575-6304 to RSVP or go to latinocommunityluncheons.webs.com.
Finding our Voices, Asian Americans in the Media
Local media personalities representing different Asian communities will present about their experiences from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Thursday. At China Town Restaurant, 326 South Nevada Ave. Tickets are $23. Call Dennis Apuan at 291-9898 or Cynthia Aki at 540-5338 for details.
Immigration Symposium
Learn about the history of immigration in Colorado Springs at this free event from 1-3 p.m. Aug. 10. At the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, 30 W Dale St., 634-5581, csfineartscenter.org.
Cotton Club party
Take a step back in time, don your zoot suit, hat and cat-eye glasses, step into your dancing shoes and join in the fun at the reenactment of Fannie Mae Duncan’s Cotton Club from 8 p.m. to midnight Aug. 11. The event will honor William and Ruth Vandel, the first Chairs of the Sister City program in Colorado Springs. It’s free with drinks and snacks available for purchase at Stargazer’s Theatre and Event Center, 10 South Parkside Drive, 476-2200, stargazerstheatre.com.
Mountain Festival celebrates golden anniversary of Sister City bond
It started with an idea: To create community despite the ocean that divides us.
On Saturday, the sister cities Colorado Springs and Fujiyoshida celebrate the 50-year sister city connection with “The Fire Festival,” which is one of many events sponsored by the Colorado Springs Diversity Forum’s “Everybody’s Welcome: Mountain Festival.”
“The Mountain Festival is a unique way to celebrate all that we share with our Sister City,” said Dee Vazquez Sabol, Colorado Springs Diversity Forum board member at large. “Our natural environments, our sense of community, and our resilience. It will showcase the best of our two cultures.
“There is an amazing confluence of activities and occurrences around this year’s festival,” said Vazquez Sabol. “Fujiyoshida and Colorado Springs have a strong current of friendship that has grown even stronger through adversity, recovery, and a spirit of camaraderie.”
On the golden anniversary of this cultural, educational, and economic partnership between these two cities we look back on how it all began and how the bond is celebrated today.
SISTER CITIES
It started, in 1961, with a suggestion from the Denver Sister Cities organization to then Colorado Springs Mayor William C. Henderson. That and the similarity in scenery to Mt. Fuji set in motion a pact between Fujiyoshida and Colorado Springs. A group of local citizens, headed by Bill and Ruth Vandel, pursued the sister city idea and within a year, the two cities were linked. The Vandels stayed on as co-chairs of the first Colorado Springs-Fujiyoshida Committee.
Fujiyoshida and Colorado Springs made it official when Henderson passed a city resolution adopting the relationship in 1962. In a hand-penned scroll, officials in Fujiyoshida sent word of their acceptance saying, “We sincerely hope that this affiliation will develop our cultural and economic exchanges and that through the understanding and friendship of the citizens of both cities, we can ultimately contribute to the world peace.”
We’re not the only one in the Fujiyoshida family: The city formed another sister city relationship with the city of Chamonix, France in 1978. All three cities are connected by their proximity to famous mountains: Pikes Peak in Colorado Springs, Mont Blanc in Chamonix, and Mount Fuji in Fujiyoshida.
CORRESPONDENCE AND GIFTS
The Colorado Springs Downtown Rotary Club erected a torii gate funded by the organization to commemorate and honor the sister city relationship with Fujiyoshida on June 10, 1966. The gate was built on the grassy median located on North Nevada Avenue between Platte Avenue and Bijou Street in downtown. A plaque near the torii gate explains the purpose of the sister city relationship and promoting understanding between the people of the two countries and cities. Fujiyoshida sent Fuji cherry trees to be planted in Colorado Springs to commemorate the event. Many gift exchanges between the two cities have taken place in the 50 years of the sister city friendship. Early in the alliance, officials from Colorado Springs sent items for display at the annual Fujiyoshida fire festival, including bolo ties, gold aspen-leaf jewelry and aspen wood turnings.
As part of the sister city arrangement, the city of Fujiyoshida sends 16 junior high school students and two chaperons to Colorado Springs in August as a goodwill trip to tour the city and the area attractions. Area middle and high school students can participate in a penpal program. Fujiyoshida City currently employs three Colorado Springs natives as part of the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program.
TALE BEHIND THE FUJIYOSHIDA FIRE FESTIVAL
The fire festival has been held every year in Fujiyoshida for more than 500 years. The event celebrates and preserves the cultural folklore. The festival marks the end of summer and is an attempt to pay tribute to the Mt. Fuji goddess in hopes of prevention a volcano eruption.
The tale behind the festival’s origin starts with the goddess deity of Mt. Fuji becoming pregnant. To prove to her deity husband that she did not have an affair, she locks herself in a room and sets it afire. The goddess reasons to her husband that if the child lives, it will prove that the offspring is indeed his. Only a child of supernatural ancestry could survive. The triplets the goddess delivers into the flames live. To pay tribute to the goddess, the community burns large torches (called taimatsus) and parades through the streets.
COLORADO SPRINGS MOUNTAIN FESTIVAL
Colorado Springs Diversity Forum was founded in 2005 by a small group of civic leaders that came together to explore how diversity and inclusion can make a better community. Its strategy was to build on the positive work already, like the Sister City program, being achieved in Colorado Springs and contribute to the social and business structure of our city.
In March of 2010, the forum was selected as a partner in the Colorado Springs and Fujiyoshida sister city 50th anniversary celebration. The commemoration, which was dubbed the “Everybody Welcome: Mountain Festival,” is a celebration of culture and diversity and part of a week-long observance that features many events, including a Sister City exhibit at the Pioneers Museum, that honor the relationship. The festival also acts as a liaison between civic engagement and diversity, showcasing area performers and artisans. The events throughout the week combine a rich sampling of the sights, sounds, and tastes with the myriad of cultures that make up the whole of the community.
The Fujiyoshida Fire Festival Association will hold a special event at the Pioneers Museum from 2-3 p.m. Friday. They will share information about Fujiyoshida and talk about what the fire festival means to the community. Members of the association will also demonstrate how the taimatsu torches are constructed for the fire festival.
The highlight of the week is the “Everybody Welcome: Mountian Festival,” which is being held from noon-8 p.m. Saturday at America the Beautiful Park.
SOURCES: csfirefestival.com, sistercitycs.us, city.fujiyoshida.yamanashi.jp and gazettedev.gazette.com
THE EVENTS
Sister City Exhibit
This free expanded exhibit runs from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. until Sunday at the Pioneers Museum, 215 S. Tejon St., 385-5990, cspm.org.
Fujiyoshida, Local Museum of History Lecture & Workshop
Learn about the history of Fujiyoshida from Museum Curator, Mitsutoshi Fuse and Museum Assistant Section Chief, Kaneko Akaike from 1-2 p.m. Friday. It’s free but space is limited. Pioneers Museum, 215 S. Tejon St., 385-5990, cspm.org.
Hyakkimaru’s World of Kirie
Featuring Fujiyoshida, native and internationally recognized artist Hyakkimaru and his art of traditional Japanese paper cutting. Exhibit runs through Sept. 15. Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, 30 W Dale St., 634-5581, csfineartscenter.org.
Everybody Welcome: Mountain Festival
This showcase of diversity and local talent will take place from noon-8 p.m. Saturday at America the Beautiful Park, 126 Cimino Drive. The festival is focused around the celebration of the 50th anniversary of Colorado Springs’ sister city relationship with Fujiyoshida, Japan at 6 p.m.. Featuring musical performers, activities, artisans, ethnic food and dynamic expressions of Japanese culture. The Fujikaen Taiko Drummers will perform along with the Fujiyoshida Jr. High student chorale. It’s free. Call 331-7588 for details or go to csfirefestival.com.
Japanese Taiko Drum Concert – SOLD OUT
Featuring the Fujikaen Taiko Drummers and the Taiko Society of Colorado Springs from 2-5 p.m. Sunday. At Armstrong Theater, Colorado College, 14 E. Cache La Poudre St., 389-6607, coloradocollege.edu.
Latino Community Luncheon
Lt. Governor Joseph A. Garcia, Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Higher Education is the keynote speaker at this ticketed, RSVP event from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Wednesday. At the Crowne Plaza, 28886 S. Circle Drive. $18 in advance, $23 the day of the event. Call Mike Jackson at 575-6304 to RSVP or go to latinocommunityluncheons.webs.com.
Finding our Voices, Asian Americans in the Media
Local media personalities representing different Asian communities will present about their experiences from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Thursday. At China Town Restaurant, 326 South Nevada Ave. Tickets are $23. Call Dennis Apuan at 291-9898 or Cynthia Aki at 540-5338 for details.
Immigration Symposium
Learn about the history of immigration in Colorado Springs at this free event from 1-3 p.m. Aug. 10. At the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, 30 W Dale St., 634-5581, csfineartscenter.org.
Cotton Club party
Take a step back in time, don your zoot suit, hat and cat-eye glasses, step into your dancing shoes and join in the fun at the reenactment of Fannie Mae Duncan’s Cotton Club from 8 p.m. to midnight Aug. 11. The event will honor William and Ruth Vandel, the first Chairs of the Sister City program in Colorado Springs. It’s free with drinks and snacks available for purchase at Stargazer’s Theatre and Event Center, 10 South Parkside Drive, 476-2200, stargazerstheatre.com.