Ikeda Delegation 2011 Visit to Penticton (Sept. 28-Oct. 2)
Lester Patrick, President of the Penticton-Ikeda Sister City Society, was with the adult delegates during most of the 2011 visit and he submitted this write-up together with these photos outlining their visit to Penticton. For more photos of the visit, please go to our Gallery. Bob Harvey, Past President of the Sister City Society & Treasurer, also submitted a letter of appreciation to The Penticton Herald thanking everyone for their hard work & support for during the 2011 visit.
Day 1
At
Penticton AIrport, the Penticton-Ikeda Sister City Society (together with
many friends) were eagerly anticipating the Ikeda Delegation's arrival. As
the arrival time approached, several welcomers took out the big "Welcome
Ikeda Delegation" banner and stretched it out in the airport lobby so
everyone could see it. When the plane landed and the delegation disembarked,
I stepped outside the arrival area on to the walkway and began snapping
photos and greeting our delegation. In total there were 31 in the
delegation: 16 adults, 12 students, 1 tour guide (plus 2 more from Ikeda who
arrived the day before as a surprise). After the visitors gathered their
luggage, we hustled them on to the buses (one bus supplied by Councilman
John Vassilaki and one provided by The Salvation Army Penticton) and headed
straight to Penticton City Hall.
(Photos of Airport Arrival)
Councilman
John Vassilaki and Deputy City Clerk Karen Burley were on hand to greet the
visitors at City Hall. John gave the adults & students a warm, friendly, and
detailed tour of City Hall and answered the many questions put forth by the
curious adults. Unfortunately there was a special conference that week and
Dan Ashton, Mayor of Penticton, and the other Council Members could not be
on hand to greet the visitors. However, the visitors thoroughly enjoyed the
tour which ended in the Council Chambers with snacks and refreshments for
everyone. In the middle of the tour, I quickly escorted 4 of the adults
(Kenji Amano, Koichi Etori, Kuniharu Minami, & Misako Azetsu) to Giant FM
for a short, live radio interview. The interview went very well and the
people of Penticton had the opportunity to hear about the Sister City visit
and the Sister City relationship as well as the visitor's impressions of
Penticton.
(Photos of City Hall Visit)
After the City Hall tour and
Giant FM radio interview, everyone made their way to the Penticton-Ikeda
Japanese Gardens for a tour of the garden & a break for lunch. The weather was spectacular - bright,
blue skies all day long - and the visitors took great interest in the garden, especially the
Japanese Koi which the students had an opportunity to feed. Lorna & Al were on
hand to greet and welcome the visitors, and Lorna also gave a speech welcoming the
new garden volunteers and thanking all the volunteers for their hard work and dedication
and presenting them with beautiful Japanese-style gifts. The box lunch was delicious and the visitors
appreciated the time to sit and relax in the garden after such a long trip.
While the students were taken to the Penticton Community Centre for an afternoon of
swimming, the adults were given tours of both the South Okanagan Events Centre and
the Penticton Community Centre. The South Okanagan Events Centre (SOEC) tour
was most informative and the adults asked many questions about this beautiful facility.
We had the chance to go to the VIP room, the Audio Room, as well as the VIP Party
Room. We were fortunate to see the Okanagan Hockey School in practice and after
the tour was over everyone relaxed in the VIP Party Room and watched the young players
practice their hockey skills. After the SOEC tour, we walked over to the Penticton Community Centre and again
the visitors asked many questions about the centre and its newly renovated surroundings.
They were most impressed by the swimming pools and were very curious about the
child-minding area which they thought was a great idea!
(Photos of Giant FM radio interview, lunch at Penticton-Ikeda Japanese Gardens,
and tours of SOEC & Penticton Community Centre)
Don & Kerry hosted the visitors at a private dinner party held at their fabulous home
overlooking Okanagan Lake. The party was held outdoors on the back lawn and
again the weather cooperated and it was a wonderful fall evening. The food was excellent
- barbequed salmon & halibut, a variety of salads, and scrumptous desserts - and the visitors had a chance to "let down their hair" and socialize with old friends and
meet new friends. The evening's entertainment was wonderful and also unique - a First Nations
family
from Saskatchewan entertained us with music, jokes, and dancing. Two of the Japanese
guests even had the chance to put on jingle dresses and dance with the youngest dancer.
A round dance ended the evening and many of the visitors remarked that it was
one of the best parties they had ever attended!
(Photos of Welcoming Party)
Day 2
On
the second day we were up bright and early, and headed south to the resort town of Osoyoos.
We arrived at the Nk'Mip Desert Culture Centre earlier than expected so we took advantage of the clear, blue skies and
zig-zagged our way up Anarchist Mountain to the Anarchist Mountain Lookout for a
spectacular view of the Okanagan Valley.
The visitors were awe-struck with the sweeping beauty of the landscape, and there
were plenty of "oohhs and aahhs" as they clicked away with their cameras! I pointed
out the "invisible" border separating the two countries (they could not get over
how the United States and Canada were divided without any wall or fence), and I explained the different
geographic regions of the valley and beyond. The visitors were most impressed with the
lookout and the view, and I even received
a few deep bows from people thanking me for bringing them to such a beautiful spot!
We drove down Anarchist Mountain and
made our way back to the Nk'Mip Desert Culture Centre.
Bob, our tour guide, was very good and he conducted the tour using simple, easy-to-understand English which was
greatly appreciated by the visitors. The delegation loved learning about the Nk'Mip culture
and history and they were fascinated by the displays on hand. They commented how
similar the Okanagan people's lifestyle and living quarters were to the
aboriginal people in Hokkaido, the Ainu. Bob showed
us a large plastic model of a beetle and the Japanese visitors were relieved to find out
the desert beetle was not exactly the same size! The salmon display in the
Nk'Mip village was a big hit. The
Okanagan people fished the waters and caught and smoked salmon which was an
important staple their diet. In Japan, salmon is a very popular fish and they
commented how delicious the freshly-caught salmon must have tasted in those
days. After the tour, we stayed for the rattlesnake show which taught the
audience all about the desert snakes and the importance of protecting and caring
for the desert snakes in their natural habitat.
After the Nk'Mip Desert Culture tour, we picked up our bento boxes (Japanese-style
lunch box) from Japan Eats and drove down to Haynes Point Provincial Park for a
picnic by the lake. I pointed out Anarchist Mountain in the distance and
explained that the spit we saw
on Osoyoos Lake from the lookout is the same spit we are now having lunch. They
loved looking out on the lake while they feasted on delicious Japanese food
(they could not believe this food was actually made
in Osoyoos, not Japan!). The weather was warm and sunny, and everyone brought out their
cameras and took photos of both the lake and their fellow picnickers. The
visitors commented how nice it was to eat outdoors amidst such beautiful
surroundings.
(Photos from Anarchist Mountain Lookout, Nk'Mip Desert Culture Centre, and
Haynes Point Picnic)
On our way back to Penticton, we stopped in at Tinhorn Creek Vineyards
in Oliver. The visitors
had a great time exploring the wine shop but the big highlight was the chance to taste
the different varieties of wine grapes. They wandered in and out among the different
rows of vines and compared the tastes of Chardonnay, Merlot, Pinot Gris, and the many other
grape varieties. After eating the grapes, we headed indoors and did some wine tasting
and then made our way to the bottles of
Tinhorn Creek wine and other souvenirs. After we left Tinhorn Creek, we drove north
to Penticton but only got as far as Vaseux Lake when the police told everyone to turn
around! There had been a traffic accident and Highway 97 was closed for the rest
of the afternoon. I suddenly remembered
the backroad to Penticton so we headed high up into the hills along White Lake Road
which gave everyone the opportunity to see the picturesque fields and farms dotting
this back country road. We arrived on time at Penticton Lakeside Resort and the guests returned
to their rooms to freshen up and get ready for the Civic Banquet hosted by the City
of Penticton.
The Civic Banquet was a very special event for our
Japanese guests. Everyone got dressed up
and mingled with the "Pentictonites" in a beautifully decorated ballroom at the
resort hotel.
The visitors were piped in by a local bagpiper, and after everyone sat down we dined
on a delicious roast beef dinner. After dinner, speeches were delivered by Councilman
John Vassilaki, Ikeda City Hall Representative Shinsaku Koyama, Ikeda-Penticton
Sister City Society President Koichi Saito, and finally Atsuko & myself who
were representing the Penticton-Ikeda Sister City Society. When the speeches
were over, the crowd was entertained by three first-class singers, including an
8 year old boy who amazed the crowd with his excellent singing and guitar playing.
(Photos of Tinhorn Creek Vineyard & Civic Banquet at the Penticton Lakeside
Resort)
Day 3
The morning was spent shopping at Cherry Lane Mall and the Wine Country Wine Shop.
The visitors appreciated the opportunity to go off on their own and explore the different
stores and puchase souvenirs for friends and family back home in Japan. After shopping,
we boarded the bus and drove to Kaleden's famous Linden Gardens. Upon our arrival we
were taken on a very interesting and informative tour of the gardens, including a tour of the
owner's house which was beautiful designed and decorated. Ken, our tour guide & owner
of Linden Gardens, was very knowledgable about the flowers, shrubs, and trees.
He also pointed out the Japanese variety of fauna and Canadian variety of common
Japanese fauna which was very interesting for our guests. Lunch at Linden Garden's Frog City Cafe
was very, very good - homemade soup, sandwiches, and salad.
The tour of the Cannery Brewing Company was also
a lot of fun. The tour guide took us
through the beer making facility and explained in detail how the beer was made and
bottled. The guests asked many questions about the hops and beer-making process.
Some of the English was technical and a bit difficult to understand but a few of the delegates
spoke excellent English so they translated the difficult parts into Japanese for the rest of
the group. Our tour guide also noted that every summer she hosts Japanese
translators from SFU who are learning how to translate the beer-making process
from English to Japanese. At the end of the tour the delegates were taken to the
beer tasting room where they sampled the
many different types of Cannery Brewing beer. In Japan beer is a very popular
drink and in the summertime when it is hot & humid the beer gardens are full
every night. Our guests congratulated the guide for making such excellent beer.
They told her that the Cannery Brewing beer was very tasty and they had a difficult time deciding which one was
the best!
(Photos of Linden Gardens & the Cannery Brewing Company)
The First Nations bracelet making lesson at the Penticton Art Gallery was
next on the agenda and it was a big hit. The visitors appreciated the chance to learn how to make
First Nations bracelets, and they thought they would be wonderful souvenirs to take
back home to Japan. Mitchell, the instructor, showed everyone the different types of First Nations crafts, and then
he distributed the
materials to the delegates. Mitchell went around the room and carefully explained and
helped the students as they slowly put together their bracelets. On average,
Mitchell told me, it takes 2 or 2 1/2 hours to make a bracelet but the Japanese visitors
got right to it and finished their bracelets in less than 90 minutes! In general, the Japanese people
have a deep appreciation for the arts and crafts and this group from Ikeda was no exception.
I was amazed how quickly they took to the task at hand and produced so many beautiful bracelets
in such a short time!
The third day ended with a private dinner at Carol & Bob's house. Turkey dinner was served
to the guests, and with the dinner being held indoors it was a chance to sit and talk with
everyone and exchange stories about the current visit and past visits to both
Penticton and Ikeda.
The turkey dinner was delicious and the Japanese guests enjoyed eating a typical Canadian
holiday dinner which is not so typical in Japan (it is difficult to find turkey and even more difficult
to bake it since not many households have Western-size ovens). There was
entertainment, speeches, and gift-giving throughout the dinner and we even had a
surprise guest - Mayor Dan Ashton - who drove straight from the airport to the
party to welcome the delegation. Everyone had a nice, relaxing visit and the
delegated commented how much they enjoy visiting people's homes and learning how
Canadians live and socialize.
(Photos of the First Nations Bracelet Making Lesson & the Private Dinner Party)
Day 4
On
the fourth day the weather turned cold and cloudy but that did not stop the
visitors from enjoying the Saturday morning Farmer's Market in downtown
Penticton. They took great interest in the fresh fruit and vegetables, the homemade baked goods,
and the handmade arts and crafts. When I explained the market ran from May to
the end of October they were surprised and commented on the large number and
variety of market stalls lining Main Street. Many of the visitors went off on their own
to shop and practice their English with the local vendors. Indeed, I happened to
overhear one exchange
between a
local vendor and two of our Japanese visitors. The vendor said he spent a few years in Japan and
told them how much he
loved the Japanese people and how kind they were toward him during his time in
Japan. It was a great
chance for our visitors to talk and meet the many vendors and learn about the
success & popularity of our Penticton's Farmer's Market.
Just before noon the Casabella Princess docked at the Penticton Lakeside Resort,
and everyone boarded this beautiful paddlewheeler and set off for a luncheon cruise
on Okanagan Lake. It was a cool and windy afternoon but the visitors had a very relaxing time
soaking up the views of the lake and the surrounding hills. It was a unique opportunity
to see Penticton from the water and they appreciated the chance to do so. The
hosts, Barb & Andy, were very gracious to our guests and everyone deeply
appreciated their hospitality.
After the cruise, we headed north to Summerland Ornamental Gardens. We toured
the beautiful 16 acre English-style gardens and the groundskeeper's house which is now a museum. The
tour guides gave us a full description of the fascinating history of the gardens,
and the guests had the chance to look back into local history and see how Canadians
lived and worked on these agricultural research grounds many years ago.
That evening a farewell party was held at John & Barbara's home on the shores of Skaha Lake.
The guests were treated to a Greek-style buffet dinner complete with a belly dancer!
The buffet dinner was superb and the guests had a lot of fun dining on the many
Greek dishes and learning a bit about Greek culture right here in Penticton.
(Photos
of the Casabella Princess Cruise)
Day 5
It was a very sad farewell as the guests departed Penticton for Banff. There were
many tears as we said goodbye to our Japanese friends and wished them the
best on the next leg of their journey. They replied that they had a wonderful stay in
Penticton, and they wished they could have stayed longer. We promised that
we would be planning our visit to Ikeda and we hoped the visit would take place in the fall of 2012. All in
all, it was a very successful visit and we loved hosting the Ikeda Delegation.
Both the adults & the students had a lot of fun during their stay and after they
returned to Japan they contacted us by email and extended their deep, heartfelt
appreciation for our hospitality and looked forward to meeting everyone again in the near future.(Letter of Appreciation to Volunteers
& Supporters of the 2011 Visit).