Mayor's Welcome
Mayor Brandon Whipple
Honorary Chair of Wichita Area Sister Cities
Message from Mayor Whipple (click here)
(316) 268-4331
President's Welcome
Message from our President (click here)
President 2022-2023
Wichita Area Sister Cities (WASC)
Mission
To promote peace through mutual respect, understanding and cooperation - one individual, one community at a time.
Purpose
Wichita Area Sister Cities (WASC) pursues exchanges with its sister cities in the following areas of interest:
Diplomatic - Mayor and City Council delegation visits
Cultural - group and individual exchanges
Educational - university programs for language development
Professional - ballet, music, chef, etc.
Tourism - group and individuals
Economic - searching business opportunities
Strategic Goals
Consistent with Sister Cities International, our strategic goals are:
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Cultural Exchange
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Partnership Building
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Business & Trade
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Community Development
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Youth & Education
More information from Sister Cities International
Sister Cities International
Notice Board
- Click the following links to visit the WASC Facebook page or the pages for Mexico , China or France
- Click the following link to complete your membership form, save it, and email it to wichitaareasistercities@yahoo.com, then click the link "Pay dues & events" at the top of the page.
Upcoming events:
The "Entre Nous" movie night hosted by the WASC France Committee is September 23rd at 5:00 pm at the LUX downtown. Click HERE for a link to the Facebook event.
Past events:
The Mexico Committee took a delegation to our Sister City of Tlalnepantla de Baz from July 12-20, 2023. Included in the delegation were: Teresa Molina, our Sister Cities president, 2 of our board members, 2 Wichita city council members, and a group of students from Friends University. More pictures can be found on the Mexico Committee tab or on the Wichita Area Sister Cities Facebook page.
Bastille Day Lunch at La Galette in Delano on July 14, 2023. Twenty-two people attended the lunch! Thank you to those who came.
Cyclists from our Sister City of Tlalnepantla de Baz were in Wichita from July 6-12th. See pictures below of the cyclists at the Sedgwick County Zoo and at a dinner hosted by Bike Walk Wichita on July 10, 2023.
Mayor Brandon Whipple visited our Sister City of Orléans, France in June 2023 and the mayors of both cities signed to renew and strengthen our friendship (see picture below). Also in June, members of WASC walked in the Wichita River Festival Sundown Parade (see picture below).
May 8th, 2023 - 50th Anniversary Commemoration
Facebook event link: https://www.facebook.com/events/s/wasc-50th-anniversary-commemor/1378802152916442/. PDF of program - click here.
Photo: Students from Mme. Miller's French class at Butler Community College read about Joan of Arc's life in French. For more pictures, check the "Wichita Area Sister Cities France Committee" Facebook page.
In 2023, WASC is celebrating the 50th anniversary of our strong relationship between Wichita and Orléans, France.
In August 1944, American soldiers, including the 137th Infantry from the Kansas 35th Division, liberated the people of Orléans, France from the Nazi occupation. Thus began the friendship between our two cities and, in 1973, Wichita and Orléans formally became Sister Cities.
WSU concerts featuring Vincent Mitterrand from the Orchestre Symphonique d'Orléans:
February 19th - Vincent performed in the Faculty Artist Chamber Music Chamber recital featuring WSU French faculty for the 2nd half. Click here for the link to this concert.
February 21st - Vincent performed the "Concerto for Trumpet" by French composer Henri Tomasi with the WSU Wind Ensemble. Click here for the link to this concert.
Our Wichita musicians, Gerald Scholl and Dominique Corbeil, visited Orléans, France in early February 2023 as part of our musician's exchange with Orléans in celebration of our 50th anniversary. See pictures below:
Events from previous years:
- Kaifeng China Delegation (below) : November 29-December 2nd, 2022. Pictures from meeting with Mayor Whipple and Wichita Art Museum (WAM) . Our sister city plans to have an exhibit at WAM in October 2023
35th Anniversary in 2020 of our Sister City relationship with Kaifeng, China
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Cities (click arrows to scroll through cities)
Kaifeng 开封, Henan 河南, P.R. China 中华人民共和国 Early in 1985, Wichita Mayor Robert Brown appointed a task force to study the desirability of establishing a Sister City relationship with a city in the Henan Province, a sister state to Kansas, People's Republic of China. The relationship became official on December 3rd and in September 1986, Mayor Brown led the first delegation to visit Mayor Zhu in Kaifeng.
On April 16th, 1944, the 137th Infantry of Kansas 35th Division liberated Orléans from Nazi occupation. In 1949, 1 1/7th Scale train was sent to Orléans as a gift. Orléans and Wichita became sister cities in 1974. That year, they exchanged statues of Joan of Arc and Blackbear Bosin's Keep of the Plains.
Wichita and Tlalnepantla de Baz, Mexico, became Sister Cities in 1973 when the Presidente Municipal (Mayor) Joaquin Rodriguez Lugo visited Mayor James Donnel in Wichita. A replica of Black Bear Bosin's Keeper of the Plains was presented to Tlalnepantla de Baz in 1975.
Kaifeng 开封, Henan 河南, P.R. China 中华人民共和国 Early in 1985, Wichita Mayor Robert Brown appointed a task force to study the desirability of establishing a Sister City relationship with a city in the Henan Province, a sister state to Kansas, People's Republic of China. The relationship became official on December 3rd and in September 1986, Mayor Brown led the first delegation to visit Mayor Zhu in Kaifeng.
See our Riverfest page for more details.
Economic Value of Sister Cities
Recently, ValueIdeas LLC published a report, "Measures that Matter," for Sister Cities International on the economic value of Sister Cities nationally and for particular cities. It is well worth reading.
Join Sister Cities
Meet visiting delegates from China, France or Mexico and participate in official visits to our Sister Cities; make business, cultural or educational contacts; stay informed about visits and scholarships; practice your Spanish, French or Mandarin; and much more.
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