Burlington is Celebrating a Special Anniversary With its Sister City in Japan

Burlington | Halton | Ontario | Latest News |

Published March 25, 2019 at 2:22 pm

 

This year, the City of Burlington is celebrating a special anniversary with its sister city – Itabashi – in Japan. 

 

This year, the City of Burlington is celebrating a special anniversary with its sister city – Itabashi – in Japan. 

According to Rob Lyng, chair of the Mundialization Committee’s Itabashi subcommittee, the friendship between the two cities began thirty years ago when a twinning agreement was signed. 

This agreement was signed by the mayors at the time – Roly Bird (Burlington) and Keizo Kurihara (Itabashi).

This relationship has endured over the years, and in 1997 the City of Burlington changed the name of Blanchard Street to Itabashi Way. And in order to thank the city, Itabashi donated a wooden bridge to Burlington – this bridge crosses a stream near the Tansley Woods Community Centre.

Itabashi has also donated the sakura, or cherry blossom trees that can be found in Spencer Smith Park and along Itabashi Way. Itabashi has also established an annual Rotary scholarship that awarded to a Burlington student studying international affairs, and donated the azaleas plants found at Paletta Mansion.

Burlington’s sister city has also made generous annual donations to support a charity in Burlington that aids children.

And in order to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the twinning cities, a Japanese garden will be constructed past the courtyard area behind the Tansley Woods Community Centre in Burlington.

The construction of this garden, which was designed by Virginia Burt Designs, commenced last fall and is expected to be completed this spring. 

And the City of Burlington is hosting an event where anyone interested can come out and see the design of this garden. 

The design of the garden, according to the Facebook event page, was inspired by the Japanese gardens common to the Itabashi area and the local Burlington landscape – including the Niagara Escarpment and local flora.

The event, formally called the ‘Itabashi Garden Design Presentation’, will take place on Saturday, April 6, 2019, from 10 to 11 a.m. at the Burlington Public Library (Tansley Woods Branch) in the Program Room.

The formal opening of Itabashi Garden at the Tansley Woods Community Centre will take place on Canada Day this year. The mayors of Burlington and Itabashi will both be in attendance. 

For more information about the connection between Burlington and Itabashi, click here.

Are you excited about this Japanese garden?

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