Sister City Bear - Grants Pass, OR
N 42° 27.690 W 123° 19.369
10T E 473459 N 4701068
This bear sculpture is located at the Grants Pass Chamber of Commerce/Visitor Center which promotes its sister city of Rubtsovsk, Russia.
Waymark Code: WMN1BM
Location: Oregon, United States
Date Posted: 12/06/2014
Views: 2
Located at the Grants Pass
Chamber of Commerce / Visitor Center is painted bear sculpture that contains depictions of Grants Pass' sister city,
Rubtsovsk, Russia. I located a nice website devoted to Grants Pass' sister city
here and it highlights the history behind the making of a sister city and reads:
The Grants Pass Sister City Committee was formed in 1990, after while-water rafters from the two cities met at an international competition during the late years of the Cold War. Candace Bartow and Lev Korshunov, then respectively the mayors of Grants Pass and Rubtsovsk, signed the agreement in 1990, ”to develop friendship between people of the Soviet Union and the United States and to stimulate economic and cultural cooperation.”
Since then, the sister city committees in Rubtsovsk and in Grants Pass have facilitated visits of over 200 citizens between our cities. Pen and email pals correspond; books have been donated to each other’s libraries; special sewing machines for the blind and medical supplies were donated and delivered, and videotapes and gifts have been exchanged.
The website contains a nice timeline of events that have occurred over the years between the two cities. This bear is one of many painted bear sculptures located throughout the city of Grants Pass, so be on the lookout for other bears if you happen to pass through!