Lecture Series on Fredericksburg's Sister Cities Begins February 18
Part of the VA250 celebrations, the series will focus on the contributions of the sister city countries to the cultural fabric of America.
By Adele Uphaus
MANAGING EDITOR AND CORRESPONDENT
Email Adele
A lecture series debuting tomorrow will examine how each of Fredericksburg’s five sister city countries—France, Germany, Italy, Ghana, and Nepal—have influenced the cultural fabric of Virginia and the nation as a whole, as well as how America has influenced them.
The free series, titled A Cultural Quilt, is part of the VA250 celebrations and is hosted jointly by the five sister city associations in partnership with the City of Fredericksburg and the Central Rappahannock Regional Library.
Wednesday evening’s inaugural lecture, presented by retired National Park Service historian John Hennessy, will set the scene by exploring how immigration has impacted the Fredericksburg area over centuries, from the first arrival of Europeans in the 1600s, through the forced immigration of enslaved people from Africa in the 1700s, to the waves of migration from Europe in the 1850s, and all the way through to today.
“The numbers over time may surprise you,” Hennessy said in a press release issued this week about the lecture series. His lecture will also examine “the community’s reaction to immigrants over time, and immigrants’ evolving impact on and with this community.”
Hennessy’s lecture begins at 6:30 p.m. in the theater room at the downtown Fredericksburg branch of the Central Rappahannock Regional Library.
Fredericksburg’s five sister cities are Fréjus, France, established in 1980; Prince’s Town, Ghana (2006); Schwetzengen, Germany (2010); Este, Italy (2015); and Kathmandu, Nepal (2015).
Next month, Marcel Rotter, Professor of German at the University of Mary Washington, and his students will present their research into the area’s German influences.
In April, Scott Walker, a long-time regional historian, tour guide, and raconteur, will speak on “Italians in 18th Century Virginia,” examining Thomas Jefferson’s relationship with Italian that Italian heritage through a regional lens. Italians in 18th Century Virginia explores the Italian relationship with Jefferson, and Italian influence through the centuries.
May’s talk features a panel discussion about France’s political and culinary contributions with Craig Vasey, retired philosophy professor at UMW and graduate of the Sorbonne in Paris; Bill Beck, former Fredericksburg mayor and long-time member of the Frejus Sister City Association; and Brooke DiLauro, French professor at UMW.
In June, Oral Ofori, internationally recognized digital media producer, and founder of TheAfricanDream LLC, explores the complicated relationship between Prince’s Town and Fredericksburg.
And in September, Lekh Nath Adhikari, professor of chemistry at Rappahannock Community College and president of the Kathmandu Sister City group, will explore Nepal’s historical arc from kingdom to monarchy to democratic republic.
For more about the lectures, go here.
Local Obituaries
