Port Angeles delegation to leave Monday for Mutsu, Japan

Published 12:01 am Sunday, May 10, 2015

PORT ANGELES — Mayor Dan Di Guilio and Councilwoman Cherie Kidd will fly Monday to Tokyo on their way to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the sister-city relationship with Mutsu, Japan.

They’ll travel at their own expense, Kidd said.

The city officials will head a delegation that will continue by train 396 miles north from Tokyo to Mutsu at the north end of the main Japanese island of Honshu.

Other members will be Dry Creek Elementary School teacher Lucy Edwards and Port Angeles High School seniors Matt Groves and Alyssa Wetzler.

Di Guilio and Kidd, a former mayor, will tour Mutsu City Hall, the Mutsu Fire Department and Odaira Junior High School.

Other events include a cooking class and an evening party with traditional kimono dress.

They also will visit a Nippon office. Nippon Paper Industries USA has a paper plant in Port Angeles.

Gifts from Port Angeles

Gifts the Port Angeles delegation will present to their Japanese hosts include a handmade quilt donated by City Manager Dan McKeen and his wife, Jan.

Metal sculptor Clark Mundy designed a hand-hammered copper Elwha chinook for the anniversary.

The sculpture, “Seven Generations,” has Salish crescents and is embellished with a human face.

It represents Mundy’s vision of the relationship Port Angeles will continue to have with Mutsu City.

Other art donations have been collected by Mike and Cindy Sofie and Tad Price of the Peninsula International Relations Association.

Residents of the Mutsu community will host Port Angeles travelers in their homes.

Money from fundraisers will assist the students with travel expenses.

The city of Port Angeles will contribute incidental items such as pins and coins to exchange with Japanese dignitaries.