This community celebration is August 4th at the Bend Belluno Sister City Plaque next to Greg’s Grill in the Old Mill District. The activities begin at 5:00pm with music by “The Summit Express” (Italian) Jazz Band with a special outdoor bar set up by Greg’s Grill. A short celebration begins at six
with a focus on current exchanges between our communities including culinary, masters
swimming, and the summer youth exchange with three students from Belluno participating.

Belluno, Italy, is a similar sized community 35 miles north of Venice located at the base of the
world famous Dolomites. Our cities have partnered, creating a unique sister city relationship
with a growing list of reciprocal cultural exchanges.

The BendBelluno Sister City relationship was official in 2011 with formal documents supported
by city councils of both communities. Prior to that, former Bend mayor Oran Teater and his wife
spent time in Belluno connecting with a former exchange student hosted by Jane’s family many
years ago. Oran shared the Belluno story saying “ We found many similarities between Belluno
and Bend as our cities are both regional centers for government and commerce, as well as
recreational communities with world class winter and summer activities. Both are blessed with
amazing mountain views as Belluno is at the base of the Dolomites .”

With the BendBelluno Sister City partnership, residents from each city are invited to learn first
hand through one-on-one relationships the common issues the two communities share, in spite
of cultural and language differences.

Just a few of the organization’s multiple cultural exchange successes:
● Italian cultural talks in Bend with the latest presentation entitled “Nordic skiing in the
Dolomites.”
● Summer Youth Cross Cultural Exchange: Bend area high school juniors spend 3 weeks
with a Belluno high school student, followed by a reciprocal 3 week hosting of the
Belluno student here in Bend. Twenty two
students have participated in the last 3 years.
● Cascade Culinary Institute at COCC six week educational exchange with Scuola
Alberghiera (SA) in Belluno: The Bend chef and students attend classes, teach and
participate in stage experiences in Belluno province, reciprocating with a similar hosting
of the Belluno chef and students at the Cascade Culinary Institute in Bend.

Laura Becker, who has been involved in the early development of both the summer student
exchanges and the COCC Cascade Culinary Institute exchange, expresses these sentiments,
“Any time you can connect students in real life learning opportunities in another place in the
world, there is much gained both for the individuals and the communities.” Echoing her
comments, Kit Carmiencke, long involved in exchanges, sees these exchanges develop and
deepen into lasting relationships. “These are summer vacations that can last a lifetime.”

This event is open to the public and is supported by the Bend Sister City Foundation, Greg’s
Grill, The Old Mill District and the BendBelluno Sister City Organization.