HOLLAND, MI (WHTC-AM/FM) – In the midst of a strain in US/Mexico relations, a 20-year-old gift to the City of Holland was rededicated on Saturday.
“It’s been 20 years of enjoying the waterfront, enjoying bringing people together, and remembering the beauty of our relationship with the city of (Santiago de) Queretaro,” Holland Mayor Nancy DeBoer said during a ceremony at the fountain Holland’s sister city in Mexico donated to the Tulip City that is located in Kollen Park. “We can be sister cities and enjoy each other, learn from each other, and grow an even better international profile in the world.”
A modest crowd surrounded the fountain, with tunes played by members of the Holland American Legion Band, as DeBoer, City Councilman Dave Hoekstra, Luis Bernardo Nava Guerrero, the Municipal President of Santiago de Queretaro, and Jose Luis Covarrabuis Herrera, the architect of the fountain, made remarks.
Nava Guerrero echoed DeBoer’s sentiments when he said, “Being sister cities is an opportunity for our young people and citizens of all ages to get to know and live an amazing experience in an emblematic city of another country.”
The ceremony kicked off a day of activities surrounding the first International Festival of Holland, where music, food and activities were centered at the Heeringa Holland Civic Center Place.
The audio of the ceremony can be found here.
