Burlington celebrates spring with two, free twin-city events on May 13

Burlington, Ont.—April 26, 2023— The City of Burlington’s Mundialization Committee is celebrating spring with two events on Saturday, May 13. These events are in honour of Burlington’s twin cities, Apeldoorn, The Netherlands and Itabashi, Japan.

Canada Netherlands Friendship Day – May 13
10 a.m.
Burlington Performing Arts Centre, 440 Locust St.
The Canada Netherlands Friendship Day will celebrate the 18^th anniversary of the City of Burlington’s twinning agreement with the city of Apeldoorn. It will also recognize the 78th anniversary of the Netherlands liberation by the Canadian Armed Forces during World War 2. The free event will include:

• Canadian and Dutch national anthems
• Greetings from, Consul General of the Netherlands, Harman Idema; Elizabeth Witmer, former Deputy Premier of Ontario; Mayor Ton Heerts of Apeldoorn; and Mayor Marianne Meed Ward
• Artwork on display from B.T. Lindley Public School and Trinity Christian School
• Art presentation from Nelson High School
• Presentation by Community Pathway Program at Nelson High School, where students maintain an Apeldoorn friendship garden
• Music from Burlington Teen Tour Band

Sakura Festival – May 13
1 p.m.
Burlington Performing Arts Centre, 440 Locust St.
Each spring, the Sakura Festival celebrates the arrival of the beautiful Japanese cherry blossoms. It also recognizes Burlington’s 34-year friendship with its twin city, Itabashi, Japan. The free event will include:

• Greetings from Consul General of Japan, SASAYAMA Takuya and Mayor Marianne Meed Ward
• A Japanese drumming performance from Do Kon Daiko
• A demonstration from Shudokan Family Karate
• An art display from students at Frontenac Public School, Florence Meares Public School and Fujimidai elementary school in Itabashi
• Burloak Aikikai Aikido martial arts demonstration                                                               
• Japanese dance by Suzuran Odori
• A Koto performance from Logan Scott
• A singing and shamisen performance from Ten Ten Canada, featuring TAKAHASHI Aki
• A performance from dance group Sakuramai
• Taiko (drum), flutes, and shamisen by Nagata Shachu

Also in celebration of Itabashi, Japan, the Taste of Japan event will run at Japanese restaurants in Burlington from May 13 to 31. This event is organized by Tourism Burlington.

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Quotes

Mayor Marianne Meed Ward

“Burlington is so fortunate to have developed strong and deep-rooted friendships with our twin cities: Apeldoorn, the Netherlands and Itabashi, Japan. With many similarities in common, our cities have learned so much from the sharing of information, culture, and friendship over the years. As Burlington’s Mayor, I would like to express my thanks to the Mundialization Committee for the hard work it does on behalf of our city to keep the bonds with our twin cities strong. We invite everyone in our community to come out to our planned events to see what makes these relationships so special.”

Hassan Raza, Chair of Burlington Mundialization Committee

“Each year in spring, the City of Burlington celebrates the connections with our twin cities Apeldoorn and Itabashi. This year, the city’s Mundialization Committee is hosting two events on May 13 that will honour the cultural bonds we share with our twins. In the morning, we mark the Canada Netherlands Friendship Day to commemorate the liberation of the Kingdom of the Netherlands by Canadian Armed Forces in 1945. In the afternoon, we will celebrate the cherry blossoms with the Sakura Festival as they do in Japan. Both events are free and open to all the public, so be sure to attend and enjoy our immersive experience.”

Quick Facts

These events are coordinated by Burlington’s Mundialization Committee. The volunteer advisory committee strives to connect Burlington to the world through events and initiatives and to promote the City of Burlington as "A World Community" dedicated to the United Nations philosophy of peaceful co-operation among the peoples of the world and encourage community understanding of different cultures global issues.

Links and Resources

• For more information about the Mundialization Committee, visit burlington.ca/mund.
• For more information about the Sakura Festival event, visit burlington.ca/sakura
• For more information about Canada Netherlands Friendship Day, visit burlington.ca/cnfd

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