CC SR 20210504 06 - Sakura Sister City Update
CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATE: 05/04/2021
AGENDA REPORT AGENDA HEADING: Regular Business
AGENDA TITLE:
Consideration and possible action to receive and file an update on the Sister City
Program with Sakura City.
RECOMMENDED COUNCIL ACTION:
(1) Receive and file an update on the Sister City Program between Rancho Palos
Verdes and Sakura City, Japan.
FISCAL IMPACT: None
Amount Budgeted: N/A
Additional Appropriation: N/A
Account Number(s): N/A
ORIGINATED BY: Karina Bañales, Deputy City Manager
REVIEWED BY: Same as above
APPROVED BY: Ara Mihranian, AICP, City Manager
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION:
On August 4, 2020, the City Council officially recognized and welcomed Sakura City ,
Japan, as a "sister city" during a virtual ceremonial signing event. Since then, Staff has
met with representatives from Sakura City monthly to discuss opportunities to ensure a
strong cultural bond and lasting friendship is sustained. Although the COVID pandemic
has placed a strain on both countries, Staff from both cities have developed innovative
ways to share cultural experiences under current conditions. Both cities have embarked
on a virtual recording of webinar programs to exchange cultural traditions, folklore, food
recipes, and more.
The following summarizes the programs, including virtual webinars, implemented or
being developed to foster the relationships between Rancho Palos Verdes and Sakura
City, Japan as part of the Sister City Program.
Sister City Homepage
To promote the Sister City Program, this evening, Staff intends to unveil the homepage
on the City’s website dedicated to its partnership with Sakura City. Once the homepage
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goes live, Staff will share this information with the community through the City’s social
media platforms and the upcoming Spring Newsletter.
Reading Children Stories
A shared tradition in both countries is reading stories to children, especially before
tucking them to sleep. Rancho Palos Verdes began this program with the reading of the
American children’s story, "Little Engine that Could." Mayor Alegria read this story to his
four children with his wife by his side, while being filmed by RPVtv. A video link was
delivered to Sakura City staff, who in turn, translated the webinar into Japanese. The
Japanese translation will be viewed and shared with residents in Sakura City.
Preparing Traditional Meals
Preparing and cooking meals for friends and family in both countries is essential and
cherished. In the second webinar, Mayor Pro Tem Bradley prepared a Santa Maria
Barbecue tri-tip for his family. This lesson in American barbecuing was captured on
video and translated into Japanese as part of the webinar series. The video will be
available on the City’s website within the next few weeks.
Sakura City is in the process of preparing a video detailing the preparation of traditional
Japanese meals in the Sakura City region. Once completed, these videos will be posted
on the City’s Sister City homepage.
Virtual City Tours
Sakura City and Rancho Palos Verdes are committed to sharing the history and beauty
of their cities. In the next upcoming webinar, Councilmember Cruikshank will host a
virtual guided tour of the Point Vicente Interpretive Center detailing the property’s
military background and showcasing the exhibits including the recently unveiled exhibits
on whale migration and the history of Portuguese Bend. Additionally, Councilmember
Ferraro will host a virtual tour of the Wayfarers Chapel. Councilmember Ferraro will tell
the story of the history, architecture, and natural beauty surrounding this Rancho Palos
Verdes landmark.
The City of Rancho Palos Verdes created sister city pins to commemorate our
partnership and will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony announcing the first anniversary of
the sister city establishment.
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Sister City Partnership Pins
Rancho Palos Verdes and Sakura City have created pins
symbolizing the unity and partnership of our sister city program.
The pin, as shown in the image, features each City’s logo on a
pair of flags, representing the committed collaboration between
our two cities. The pins will be provided to the City Council at
the May 4th meeting.
Sister City Directional Sign
To commemorate the one-year anniversary of our sister city program with Sakura City,
the City fabricated a directional sign identifying the distance between to Sakura City
from Rancho Palos Verdes, which is 5,431.53 miles. This sign will be installed at City
Hall in the lawn area near the parking lot. The City will host an unveiling event with the
City Council this summer that is planned to be streamed live with Sakura City.
Sakura City Postal Stamp
Sakura City is printing sister city postage stamp to commemorate the upcoming one-
year anniversary. Similar to the United States, Japan’s postal service celebrates people,
events, and cultural milestones that are unique to its history. Sakura City includes in its
postage, pictures of Rancho Palos Verdes. These pictures include parks, facilities, and
ocean sunrises and sunsets.
Virtual Workshop
Both cities are collaborating on hosting a virtual workshop in the near future. The
workshop will enable City officials and members of both communities to interact with
one another through the exchange of greetings, stories, art, and other forms of
discussion through the virtual webinar platform.
CONCLUSION:
As we all are aware, the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the way two distant
countries, separated by the Pacific Ocean, can interact and exchange cultures. It has
challenged Staff to create innovative approaches to engage community members in
both cities as summarized in this report.
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