Mayor of Wichita
Mayor Lily Wu
Honorary Chair of Wichita Area Sister Cities
Tel: 316-268-4331
Read about Mayor Wu (click here)
President of WASC
President 2025-2026
Wichita Area Sister Cities (WASC)
Wichita is an active participant in the Sister Cities International program. Goals include community enrichment by exhibits, tours, student exchanges, meeting foreign leaders.
To contact us:
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 Wichita Area Sister Cities (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 "Donate / Payments" at the top of the page.
Upcoming and current events:
A French delegation from Orléans, France, is in Wichita April 5-12, 2025. If you would like to attend events, please consult the France Committee Facebook page (click here) for a full list!
Past events
- The France Committee hosted 'Entre Nous' on February 15, 2025. A big "Thank you" to the Tallgrass Film Center & Dominique Corbeil for their contribution to the evening. See details on our Facebook event (click here)
- WASC Annual Meeting - January 25, 2025 at 5 PM. For pictures and livestream video of this wonderful event, please check out Wichita Area Sister Cities Facebook page (click here).
'Entre Nous' French movie event - September 28th at 3 PM at the Tallgrass Film Center at the LUX (120 E. 1st St. N, Suite 113, Wichita, Kansas)
The Wichita Area Sister Cities France Committee showed the WWII movie "De Gaulle".
Commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Orléans by the Kansas Regiment of the 137th Infantry
On August 16, 2024, the WASC France Committee organized a special commemoration event for those from Kansas who liberated Orléans 80 years ago on that day. This was the catalyst for our two cities becoming Sister Cities. If you would like to see picture of the event, please visit the WASC France Committee Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/WASC.France/
Thank you to the Wichita-Sedgwick Historical Museum for allowing us to use their venue. Thank you to Mayor Wu for speaking and thank you also for the City of Wichita for setting up chairs, a podium and microphone near Joan of Arc downtown. If you would like a booklet about our soldiers who helped liberate Orléans, please email us at: wichitaareasistercities@yahoo.com. Suggested donation is $10. The booklet contains pictures and testimonials of our GI's.
Bastille Day Luncheon - La Galette
To celebrate the French National holiday, the WASC France Committee organized a lunch on July 14, 2024 at 1 PM.
Wichita Area Sister Cities held an Annual Meeting on April 14th at 5 PM at 12219 W Sheriac St, Wichita, KS 67235 for members and non-members alike.
Kansas Global Holiday Market - December 8-10, 2023
Join Wichita Area Sister Cities (WASC) and Kansas Globe Trade Services for this three-day holiday market celebrating countries around the world with performances, activities, and vendors offering food, beverages, and gifts. Inspired by the winter Christmas markets in Europe, this inaugural family-friendly event showcases global cultures over a fun-packed weekend. WASC committees will be there so be sure to come by booth numbers 37, 38 & 39 (near the Maple Street Entrance) and support our organization by purchasing or donating. We use the funds for various cultural events around town and for university scholarships for study abroad to our various Sister Cities.
You can purchase your tickets HERE
More information can be found on the website above on on the Facebook (FB) invite: click HERE
Wichita Art Museum: Kaifeng Art Exhibit - Dec 1-17, 2023
The Kaifeng Art Exhibit started December 1st at the Wichita Art Museum, on the ground floor. It will last until Dec 17th. On exhibit are: embroidery screens, embroidery paintings, Song dynasty royal porcelains, wood print paintings, and lanterns. They are worth seeing since they are authentic and exquisite Chinese art. We hope to see you there !
Click HERE for more information about the exhibit
Click HERE for Facebook video about the exhibit
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.
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.
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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.
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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