On Wednesday, Aug. 17, representatives from Snoqualmie, North Bend, Korea and Peru gathered for the dedication of Sister Cities Park on Maple Avenue S.E., next to Snoqualmie’s City Hall.

The event recognized and honored the Snoqualmie Sister Cities Association and the work its members have done facilitating cultural exchanges and building relationships with people across the world.

At the dedication, Snoqualmie Mayor Matt Larson introduced Mayor JuHong Kang from Snoqualmie’s sister city of Gangjin, Korea, and Consul-General Miguel Velasquez of the Consulate of Peru in Seattle. All three representatives spoke about the Sister City program and its importance in cultural education.

Sister Cities Association chairperson Tina McCollum received a standing ovation for her work with the program after Mayor Kang thanked her for her work in connecting cities from around the world.

“I would like to give a standing ovation to Tina McCollum as the chairperson for the Snoqualmie Sister Cities Association for her work, for her dedication, from the beginning,” Kang said. “Sister Cities Park will be a milestone for continuity and development of partnership among every sister city including Gangjin.”

Consul-General Velasquez also thanked McCollum for her work and spoke about how the sister cities partnership has grown and its future in building partnerships and relationships between the cities.

“Sometimes it’s easy to build walls,” Velasquez said. “It’s a little harder to build bridges but they take us far. The bridges that Snoqualmie has built to Peru and Korea are becoming larger and larger and getting us all closer.”