Minneapolis Ibaraki Sister City Association (MISCA)

The Minneapolis Ibaraki Sister City Association
Invites you to attend the
12th Annual Nicollet Island Cherry Tree Festival

May 12, 2024
2 – 4 pm
Nicollet Island Park
{In the tent outside the Pavilion}

Admission is Free
{Donations accepted)

Entertainment
2 – 3 pm
Kamishibai
by Karen Kersting

Sword Demostration by Mutokai Iaido & Minneapolis Jo

3 pm
2024 Haiku Awards Ceremony

3:30 pm
Harisen Daiko
Drum Group

Other Activities
Cha-Ami Japanese Cultural Center
Info about Tea Ceremonies
Japanese Games
Japanese Origami
Chopstick Contest
Wander around the thirty Cherry Trees
Visit the “Bell of Two Friends” Sculpture

The Minneapolis Ibaraki Sister City Association
Invites you to attend the
12th Annual Cherry Tree Festival

May 12, 2024 2 pm - 4 pm
Nicollet Island Park - in the tent outside the pavilion

Admission Free

Entertainment:

Kamishibai by Karen Kersting
2024 Haiku Awards Ceremony
Harisen Daiko Drum Group

Other Activities:

Japanese Games
Origami
Chopstick Contest
Visit the "Bell of Two Friends" Sculpture
Wander around the thirty cherry trees donated by the city of Ibaraki

More information - email [email protected]

Less than two weeks away! Join Us!

The Minneapolis Ibaraki Sister City Association Invites you to attend the 11th Annual Nicollet Island Cherry Tree Festival!

Sunday, May 14, 2023
2 – 4 pm
Nicollet Island Park
{In the tent outside the Pavilion}
Admission is Free
{Donations accepted)

Entertainment:
Kamishibai by Karen Kersting
Harisen Daiko Drum Group

Other Activities
Japanese Games
Japanese Origami
Chopstick Contest
Japanese Student Art on Display
Haiku Awards Ceremony
Hear and read this year's winning Haikus from Minneapolis
Public School Students

The Minneapolis Ibaraki Sister City Association Invites you to attend the 11th Annual Nicollet Island Cherry Tree Festival!

May 14, 2023
2 – 4 pm
Nicollet Island Park
{In the tent outside the Pavilion}

Admission is Free
{Donations accepted)

Entertainment:
Kamishibai
by Karen Kersting

Harisen Daiko
Drum Group

Other Activities
Japanese Games
Japanese Origami
Chopstick Contest
Japanese Student Art on Display

Thursday, November 18, 2021 is Give to the Max Day!

Please think about donating to the Minneapolis Ibaraki Sister City Association this year. Thank you to those who have already donated.

MISCA events and activities are staffed by people who have an interest in Ibaraki and Japan and Japanese Culture. They are all volunteers and do this out of the goodness of their hearts.

However there are still some costs involved and therefore we need your help.

We have two fundraising campaigns going this year:

· Our normal campaign for general funds for our normal events each year: Haiku Contest, Cherry Tree Festival, Sister Cities Day and Holidazzle.

Funds for these events are used to buy supplies, prizes, refreshments and sometimes rental fees for the space or fees for entertainment.

· We are also continuing our fundraising for the Bell of Two Friends. Although we raised enough to repair the sculpture, we are continuing to slowly build up funds for the next time the sculpture will need repairs, as the winters will continue to take their toll on the concrete that makes up the sculpture.

Your donation of $20, $50, $100 or whatever you can give will help us to continue with these programs and fund the future repairs for the “Bell of Two Friends”. You can give to the General Fund, the Repair Fund or both.

To donate to the general fund, click the link below:

https://www.givemn.org/organization/Minneapolis-Ibaraki-City-Cultural-Association

To donate to the future repairs of the Bell of Two Friends, click on the link below:

https://www.givemn.org/story/Belloftwofriends

Thank you for considering a donation to MISCA this year!

Support The Bell of Two Friends on GiveMN The Bell of Two Friends, located on Nicollet Island is in need or repairs.

Give to the Max day is Thursday, November 19, 2020, however early giving has already begun! Any gifts given any day from now up through November 19 qualifies MISCA to be an entrant for additional monetary gifts given by the Give to the Max Foundation.

Please consider donating to the Minneapolis Ibaraki Sister City Association this year. Although the pandemic has caused many of our programs to be canceled this year, a few are still going on. The Haiku Contest is continuing (with online judging) and we have started a new type of exchange - monthly Zoom meetings with our Friends at the Ibaraki International Network. We are hoping that this coming spring we will be able to resume our usual programs: The Haiku Awards Ceremony, The Cherry Tree Festival and Sister Cities Day.

We actually have two fundraising campaigns going this year:

1) Our normal campaign for general funds for the activities above, with a goal of $1000 this year.

2) We are also continuing our fundraising for the Bell of Two Friends. We successfully raised more than enough funds to completely repair the sculpture this summer. Now we are looking at slowly building up funds for the next time the sculpture will need repairs, as the winters will continue to take their toll on the concrete that makes up the sculpture.

Your donation of $20, $50, $100 or whatever you can give will help us to continue with these programs and fund the future repairs for the “Bell of Two Friends”. You can give to the General Fund, the Repair Fund or both.

To donate to the general fund, click the link below:
https://www.givemn.org/organization/Minneapolis-Ibaraki-City-Cultural-Association

To donate to the future repairs of the Bell of Two Friends, click on the link below:
https://www.givemn.org/story/Belloftwofriends

Thank you for considering a donation to MISCA this year!

Zenbox Izakaya Restaurant had been the location for the MISCA board meetings until the Covid Pandemic shut down their indoor operations. Board members loved not only the wonderful selection of Japanese dishes that people in Japan would typically eat at home, but also the wonderful service and reasonable prices.

The restaurant is located at 602 South Washington Avenue, not far from the Guthrie Theater and has been operating since 2012.

Although the restaurant reopened with takeout and the outdoor patio when the lock-down was eased, business has still been down – due to the fewer number of people downtown for either business or pleasure.Now with colder weather approaching the outdoor patio area is closing on November 1st.

However, they will still be offering Take-out service and also have delivery service currently through Bite Squad and soon also through Door Dash. Hours of operation are 4 – 8 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.

Until they can fully reopen, we encourage you to support Zenbox by ordering lunch/dinner for takeout and or delivery.
You can find their menu and more information at: zenbox.com

The Bell of Two Friends has been restored! The group of donors met with the artist, Karen Sontag Sattel, to see the finished product and take a socially distanced photo.

Give to the Max is open for business with matching grants and daily prize drawings! Please visit the MISCA page and consider donating to this worthy organization celebrating 40 years of our sister City relationship between Minneapolis and Ibaraki City, Japan.

https://www.givemn.org/organization/Minneapolis-Ibaraki-City-Cultural-Association

Support Minneapolis-Ibaraki Sister City Association on GiveMN Help Support MISCA Cultural and Exchange ProgramsMISSIONPart of the mission of Sister Cities is for the local...

Give to the Max is open for business with matching grants and daily prize drawings! Please visit the MISCA page and consider donating to this worthy organization celebrating 40 years of our sister City relationship between Minneapolis and Ibaraki City, Japan.

https://www.givemn.org/organization/Minneapolis-Ibaraki-City-Cultural-Association

MISCA Board members had the pleasure of dining yesterday with Kenichi Okada, Consul General of Japan, Yuki Ikawa, Vice Consul (not pictured), and Richard Stahl, Honorary Consul. Okada-san was born and raised in Ibaraki City! We enjoyed learning about his impressive background and expertise, and discussing future plans for the sister City relationship.

The Harisen Daiko group was fabulous at the 12th annual Minneapolis Sister Cities Day!

Join us on Sunday, July 21st for one of the best events of the year! Make sure to get to the Nicollet Island Pavillion by 1:00 to catch the amazing Harisen Daiko drumming group sponsored by MISCA! https://www.minneapolis.org/about-us/sister-cities/sister-cities-day/

How to Celebrate This Year's Minneapolis Sister Cities Day Come be part of our annual event where we celebrate over 40 years of being part of the Sister Cities program.

Congratulations to all of the winners of the annual Haiku competition! Thank you to our Japanese judges for their thoughtful reviews and feedback!

In Ibaraki City. There are showing arts at the empty store fronts now.

There's a few more hours left to support MISCA on Give to the Max day!

https://www.givemn.org/organization/Minneapolis-Ibaraki-City-Cultural-Association

Support Minneapolis-Ibaraki Sister City Association on GiveMN Help Support MISCA Cultural and Exchange ProgramsIn 1980 a Mr. Donut franchise, which at that time was part of Minneapolis based International Multi-Foods, opened in Ibaraki City Japan. This was the catalyst for a group of citizens in each city to set up a Sister City...

$500 Golden Tickets every 10 minutes!
sponsored by Bush Foundation
We see excitement year after year around Golden Tickets, and thanks to our partners at Bush Foundation, we'll be awarding $500 Golden Tickets every 10 minutes on Give to the Max Day 2018! That equals six extra drawings each hour, and 144 new chances to win throughout the day!

Support Minneapolis-Ibaraki Sister City Association on GiveMN Help Support MISCA Cultural and Exchange ProgramsIn 1980 a Mr. Donut franchise, which at that time was part of Minneapolis based International Multi-Foods, opened in Ibaraki City Japan. This was the catalyst for a group of citizens in each city to set up a Sister City...

Help Support MISCA Cultural and Exchange Programs

https://www.givemn.org/organization/Minneapolis-Ibaraki-City-Cultural-Association

In 1980 a Mr. Donut franchise, which at that time was part of Minneapolis based International Multi-Foods, opened in Ibaraki City Japan. This was the catalyst for a group of citizens in each city to set up a Sister City Relationship. MISCA (Minneapolis Ibaraki Sister City Association) and IFAI (International Friendship Association of Ibaraki) were formed as the local organizations to facilitate the relationship.
Part of the mission of Sister Cities is for the local organizations to both participate in exchange programs and to offer local programs to educate people about the culture, history and language of their Sister City.
MISCA currently offers the following exchanges and programs:
· Minneapolis Experience Tour – Ibaraki visitors come each summer to visit and learn about Minneapolis and Minnesota
· Ibaraki Experience Tour – Minneapolis area citizens travel to Ibaraki to visit and learn about Ibaraki and Japan
· City Official Tour – Occasionally City Officials come to Minneapolis to learn how government functions here or to learn how government deals with certain issues that we may have in common
· Haiku Contest – Minneapolis Public School students and staff submit Haikus each year with final judging done by citizens of Ibaraki. We currently get approximately 1000 entries every year
· Annual Cherry Tree Festival – held at Nicollet Island among the Cherry Trees donated by Ibaraki. This includes Japanese entertainment done by local groups and demonstrations of Japanese games, toys, origami and calligraphy.
· Minneapolis Sister Cities Day Celebration – held every July, our Japanese visitors perform and we have demonstrations of origami, calligraphy and Japanese games and toys at our group’s table.
· Holidazzle Village – New this year we hope to have a table where we will again have demonstrations of origami and Japanese games and toys, as well as how Christmas is practiced in Japan.
We have many volunteers who help us with the programs, but there are still some costs involved. These include supplies, like paper and ink for calligraphy, paper for Origami, Japanese toys or games for demonstrations, small gifts for our visitors who travel from Ibaraki or small gifts to give to people during our visits to Ibaraki. (All people traveling between the cities pay their own travel expenses.)
Your donation of $20, $50 or more to MISCA during this time will help us to meet our goal of $1500, which will allow us to continue the programs we have been offering.
Please see our website, Misca.us, and page, https://www.facebook.com/Minneapolis-Ibaraki-Sister-City-Association-MISCA-129381810480923/, for more information and about past programs.

Minneapolis Ibaraki Sister City Association (MISCA) Minneapolis's connection with Ibaraki, Japan, through cultural exchanges, youth program, and business opportunities

See the Cherry Blossoms in Japan! You're invited to join MISCA on a Spring trip to our Sister City, Ibaraki, Japan. The dates in Ibaraki are March 29 through April 8th, 2019, although you are welcome to travel to other parts of Japan before our after those dates. Participants schedule their own flights, but hotel rooms are being held for the nights in Ibaraki. Contact Karl Reinhard for more information at [email protected]

Minneapolis Sister Cities Day is a celebration of our relationship with 12 Sister Cities around the world, including Ibaraki, Japan! (Photo credit: Mary Witkus) https://www.minneapolis.org/about-us/sister-cities/sister-cities-day/

The delegation from Ibaraki had the opportunity to meet with Minneapolis Mayor, Jacob Frey, in July. (Photo credit: Mary Witkus)

Here are some beautiful photos, courtesy of Mary Witkus, of our friends from Ibaraki during their visit to Minneapolis in July, 2018!

http://www.comozooconservatory.org/news/como-park-obon/

Japanese Obon Festival August 19th ~ Bigger & Better Than Ever! - Como Park Zoo and Conservatory ~Japanese food, art, dance, martial arts and cultural treasures showcased at Como~ We have expanded the footprint of the festival, adding more food vendors, entertainment, exhibitors, porta-potties, and thanks to Metro Transit, we can offer free rides to Como!   Free shuttle bus service from the Di...

Our thoughts and prayers are with our friends in our sister city of Ibaraki City, Japan. The city was at the epicenter of a 6.1 earthquake this morning during rush hour. We have reached out to see if we can offer any assistance in this difficult time.

All of us in Minneapolis are thinking of our friends in Ibaraki City and Osaka today and wishing for your safety!