Wenatchee Valley Welcomes Misawa Delegates for 44th Year

The cities of Wenatchee and East Wenatchee welcomed delegates from Misawa, Japan Wednesday afternoon at Wenatchee City Hall.

The Sister City, known for the "Miss Veedol" airplane landing in Pangborn Airport in 1931, celebrates its 44th year the cities of Misawa and the Wenatchee Valley have recognized their relationship. Wenatchee Valley will send a delegation to Misawa in September.

Get our free mobile app

East Wenatchee Mayor Jerrilea Crawford says the visit from Misawa is like having a family member visit the valley. She says Misawa came through in a big way in 2015 when wildfires ravaged the valley.

"When we had the fires here in Wenatchee when we lost a lot of homes, I happened to be in Misawa at the time, and their news station was broadcasting our fires on the news and raising money," Mayor Crawford said. "They came together to raise money for us because they cared about us, not because we asked, not because it was affecting them, they just really cared."

Wenatchee Mayor Mike Poirer said this is a joint effort between the cities of Wenatchee and East Wenatchee.

"It's a continuation because Mayor Crawford brought me in and said 'here's how we do this, this is the right thing to do,'" Mayor Poirer said. "It is fun, besides just fun, you get these students that stay at other people's houses, they experience the culture, and when we go over there and we have delegates over there, we experience the culture so we bring that back to each community."

The Apple Blossom Royalty, including Queen Ella Johnson and Princesses Yasmin Perez and Daeja Carlson, attended and welcomed the delegates. They also performed a special rendition of "Sweet Caroline" re-vamped into an Apple Blossom theme. Mayor Crawford said there were no plans for the Royal Court to do so, but that it was a special addition to the ceremony.

A large delegation of North Central Washington residents first flew to Misawa in 1981 to attend the official signing of the Sister City agreement. The delegation spent a week in Misawa and returned to Wenatchee with a better understanding of the relationship between the two cities.

"Of course, it landed on the East Wenatchee side of the river, that's why we take a little extra pride, it was such a historical event," Mayor Crawford said. "It gives us some identity and some moments to be proud of and then the Sister City relationship because of that flight, to keep it going and be so successful."

From that time, the two cities have exchanged annual visits by dignitaries and representatives at their respective festivals.

"This year, with a delegation of 20 people total, will be a total of [856] guests that we've welcomed from Japan," Mayor Crawford said. "It's significant when you look at how many people over time that we have a connection with and have touched."

Mayor Crawford credits former East Wenatchee Mayor Steve Lacey for making huge strides in the program.

The Misawa delegates will spend the week celebrating the Apple Blossom festival before returning home to share their experience with their home town.

Editor's note: When speaking with Mayor Crawford, she provided the wrong number of delegates based on information she received. The bracketed number reflects the accurate number.