Gilroy Sister Cities Association to hold dinners and auctions to
support cultural exchange
Gilroy – A feast of international foods will kick off two fundraisers intended to strengthen Gilroy’s ties with cities abroad.
The nonprofit Gilroy Sister Cities Association will hold a banquet and auction Saturday featuring foods from each of the city’s six exchange partners. A second dinner and auction will take place the following Saturday, April 1, to help send a youth violin group to Angra do Heroismo, one of Gilroy’s newest sister cities and the birthplace of Mayor Al Pinheiro.
The first Sister Cities fundraiser last year raised $12,000, money that helped bring 32 representatives from around the world to Gilroy during the summer Garlic Festival.
“This is an opportunity for cultural exchange,” Pinheiro said. “We hosted a student from Japan and (my son) got to find out a little about what kids in Japan do and that things aren’t so different in a lot of cases. At the same time he found that they’re stricter on some things like homework and studying.”
In addition to helping organize the Sister Cities event, Pinheiro has helped ease the way for the latest international foray by two dozen youth violinists. In recent years, the Violin Kids Friendship Tour has allowed the children of the South Valley Suzuki Music Foundation to visit England and Germany. Pinheiro’s travel agency has arranged airfare – without taking any commission – to get the kids to Azores islands in Portugal this summer, but the group remains far short of its $60,000 fundraising goal.
“We hope this event brings us a lot closer,” said Jacqui Carrasco, whose 9- and 10-year-old kids play in the group. “The people (abroad) don’t think of them as children from Gilroy. They think of them as American children. When we go somewhere, they may not all fathom it, but they represent the whole United States. They’ve had such wonderful experiences.”
Both weekend fundraisers include auctions featuring various products, services and trips donated by local businesses and families. Attendees of the Suzuki event will have a chance to hear the kids perform at 6:15pm. Both events take place at the Portuguese Hall at 250 Old Gilroy St.
Charity Dinners
Sister Cities Association, International
Dinner & Auction
– March 25, from 6 to 10pm at the Portuguese Hall, 250 Old Gilroy St.
– $30 tickets
South Valley Suzuki Music Foundation,
A Night in the Azores Dinner and Auction
– April 1, from 6 to 10pm at the Portuguese Hall, 250 Old Gilroy St.
– $25 tickets
– For more information on the Sister Cities event, call Pinheiro Insurance Agency at 842-4619.
For information on the Suzuki event, call Jacqui Carrasco at 847-7982.
