2021 Sakura Festival

Tuscaloosa Sister Cities International is proud to feature the annual Sakura Art Show in a virtual format this year! Please check out the link to the TSCI Facebook page on this website, and be amazed by the beautiful works of art from students in the Tuscaloosa City Schools, Narashino, Japan, and Sunyani, Ghana! This year’s Sakura Art Show is themed “Resilience/United in Hope”. Enjoy this Sakura/Cherry Blossom season with this colorful artistic display! More information on the 2021 Sakura Festival may be found on the University of Alabama Capstone International Sakura Festival page.

Haiku Project

TSCI’s presents our Haiku poetry booklet, Coming Together During a Global Pandemic. Submissions from Tuscaloosa poets, along with haiku from our Sister City, Narashino Japan, as well as haiku from poets from around the world, may be found in the booklet. The haiku showcase the thoughts and reactions by individuals to the Covid-19 pandemic. Printed copies of the booklet are available by emailing tuscaloosasistercities@gmail.com

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TSCI Haiku Project – Fall 2020

“COMING TOGETHER DURING A GLOBAL PANDEMIC”

Tuscaloosa Sister Cities International is happy to launch an exchange of Haiku between Tuscaloosa its sister cities.  Each City would solicit haiku from youth and the general population.  The theme, “Coming Together During a Global Pandemic”,  will feature haiku describing the author’s thoughts, observations, and experiences during these days of Covid-19.

Haiku is a type of short form Japanese poetry, consisting of three phrases in a pattern of 5-7-5 syllable count. Often focusing on simplicity, intensity, and directness of expression, Haiku is a powerful tool to convey a particular idea or sentiment. Example:

Separated Now

Pandemic Times of Concern

Friends Offer Solace

For the “Coming Together During a Global Pandemic” Haiku project, all haiku must be submitted to TSCI to make sure the criteria/theme of the Haiku for form is followed, and completed with the name of the author, school, and sister city affiliation.  TSCI plans to compile the Haiku, and  and create a booklet featuring the top 100 submissions.  Cities may solicit from schools, senior centers, general public, Sister City staff and volunteers.  The Haiku will need to be in a form easily copied so as to allow the compilation.  TSCI plans to publish haiku on TSCI social media pages as a show of friendship and solidarity between our sister cities, and later create a booklet featuring the top 100 Haiku submitted.

Haiku submissions will be accepted from September 1 – October 16, 2020

Please send all haiku tuscaloosasistercities@gmail.com  

Our Sister Cities

NARASHINO, JAPAN 

Narashino City, municipalized in 1954, is located on the Tokyo Bay near Tokyo in northwest Chiba Prefecture.  A regional commercial center, Narashino’s coastal area is home to many industries, as well as the Yatsu Higata Tidelans, a protected wetland for migratory birds, and the Yatsu Rose Garden, which features more than 6000 individual blossoms in May and October. Several institutions of higher learning, including the Chiba Institute of Technology and Nihon University, are located here.

SCHORNDORF, GERMANY

Schorndorf is located in the southwest of Germany, only 18 miles from Stuttgart. capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg.  This historic city is the birthplace of automotive pioneer, Gottleib Daimler, and is often referred to as “Die Daimlerstadt”, the Daimler City.  A beautiful medieval town, Schorndorf was founded in the 12th century and is situated in the valley of the Rems River and surrounded by the hills of the Swabian Forest, well known for its rich wine country.

SUNYANI-TECHIMAN, GHANA

Sunyani is a city in the West African Republic of Ghana, and is the capital of the Bono Region. As estimated 80-thousand people reside here.  The name Sunyani derives from the Akan word for elephant, ‘Osono’,  Techiman, located nearby, is the leading market city in the region, and is the legendary birthplace of all Akan peoples.  Sunyani and Techiman are important hubs for the distribution of cocoa, kola nuts, and cashews; both cities are well-known for their many cultural, recreational, educational and economic amenities.