2011-04-13 10:32

Fort Worth, Texas – Sister Cities to man booth at Japanese Festival

In an effort to raise funds for Japan’s earthquake relief fund, Fort Worth Sister Cities was invited by the Japanese Society of Fort Worth to participate in the upcoming Japanese Spring Festival at the Fort Worth Botanic Garden taking place this weekend,  April 16 and 17. Sister Cities will man a booth to educate the community and collect donations to be sent to Fort Worth’s sister city, Nagaoka, Japan.  Although not directly affected by the earthquake and tsunamis, Nagaoka is expected to house thousands of evacuees and has set up evacuation centers.  The money will be given to the Japan Red Cross Society. “The people of Fort Worth have developed hundreds if not thousands of friendships with the people of Japan since this relationship began in 1987 and want to help now. Since the earthquake in March we have raised nearly $20,000 which will be extremely helpful as Japan rebuilds,” said Brad Mahon, Chairman of the Board of Sister Cities. The Spring Festival features traditional Japanese dance and music, martial arts, swordsmanship, bonsai, ikebana and tea ceremonies. There will also be an art show and sale, a pottery demonstration and sale, as well as demonstrations of calligraphy, origami and haiku. Event hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $5 for adults; $3 for children 4-12 and children under 4 are admitted free. The Botanic Garden is located at 3220 Botanic Garden Blvd. Anyone wishing to contribute to the Japanese relief fund can send a check to:

Fort Worth Sister Cities International 610 Grove Street Fort Worth, TX  76102

Japan Earthquake Relief Fund

Or you can donate online at www.fwsistercities.org.  All donations will be sent to the Japan Red Cross Society and are 100% tax deductible.