The Washington State History Museum in Tacoma currently has an outstanding exhibit about citizen diplomacy and the many efforts of multiple groups in the Pacific Northwest that worked to promote peace during the Cold War, including the Seattle-Tashkent Sister City Association (STSCA), which is one of the featured organizations in the exhibit. The exhibit reminds us all that citizen diplomacy, our efforts as volunteers and individual citizens, have a huge impact and create lasting change!

The STSCA was the first Soviet-American sister city, established in 1973, and is proud to be celebrating our 45^th anniversary next year. We continue the work of those who created the sister city and maintained its role for all these years to promote peace and understanding between the peoples of Central Asia and the United States.

We encourage you to visit the Glasnost and Goodwill: Citizen Diplomacy in the Northwest exhibit, which runs until January 21, 2018. More information on the exhibit is available here:

http://www.washingtonhistory.org/visit/wshm/exhibits/GlasnostGoodwill

A memorial service was held on September 16 at the Seattle City Hall for past STSCA President, Gary Furlong, who passed away over the summer in Las Vegas. Friends, family members, and dignitaries gathered to pay their respects to Gary and to honor the memory of his rich and impactful life.

Gary was devoted to humanitarian causes and to serving local and international communities. He was a past President of the STSCA and also served for many years as the Honorary Consul of Uzbekistan, contributing greatly to the development of people-to people diplomacy between Uzbekistan and the United States. His other accomplishments include putting together the Pacific Rim Disaster Team, which traveled to Armenia in 1988 to provide relief to the victims of the Spitak earthquake that claimed the lives of over 25,000 people. Throughout his legal and community service careers, Gary helped many people, including a young girl, Madina Rasulova, whom he brought to the United States from Uzbekistan for a surgery that saved her life. She now has three children of her own. Gary is survived by his children, Katya and Albert, and his siblings, Grady, Barbara, Linda, and Rhonda. He is predeceased by his parents and grandparents.

Gary loved life. He cherished his family and friends, and enjoyed reading and helping people. May his memory be a blessing to all those he knew!

STSCA Board Member Fred Lundahl gave a successful talk recently on the history and mission of the STSCA to the Judson Park Retirement Center in Des Moines, WA. The talk was well-attended by approximately 70 people, who expressed their interest in the work of our organization. Thank you to Fred for presenting and to the Judson Park Center for hosting him!

Tickets are now on sale for our annual summer picnic on Sunday, September 24. As in years past, the picnic will feature authentic Uzbek plov, games, good music, and fun for both kids and adults! This year’s picnic will be held from 2-6 PM at the North Shelter in Gene Coulon Memorial Beach Park, 1201 Lake Washington Blvd N., Renton, WA.

Tickets are now available–get yours before they sell out! The cost is $10 for ages 12 and up, and free for under 12. You can purchase tickets here:

http://stscapicnic2017.brownpapertickets.com/

We hope to see you there!
–The STSCA Board

This year’s Navruz celebration was featured in a video by the local online news site, Whats Up Northwest–thanks to Eugene Sarigumba for creating it! You can watch the video here:

Navruz is our largest annual event and is a community celebration that brings up to 450 people together for music and dance performances, authentic Uzbek dishes, a Central Asian Fashion Show, and good conversations! This popular event sells out every year ahead of time, attracting guests from all over the U.S. and Canada, while uniting people from our community, regardless of their cultural, religious, or ethnic background and celebrating the rich culture of Central Asia.

We are looking for corporate sponsors to offset the costs of the event, as well as in-kind donations for the Navruz raffle. We are a 501(c)3 nonprofit, so all donations are tax-deductible. As our thanks to our sponsors, we will recognize sponsors from the stage during the festivities and offer them a wide range of benefits ranging from free tickets and a table at the event to marketing and publicity opportunities.

If you or your business/organization is interested in supporting Navruz this year through sponsorship or raffle donation, please email us and let us know!

For more information about our Navruz celebration, download the flier.

Tickets are now available for our 19th annual Navruz celebration–this year on Sunday, March 26, 2017, at a new location in Bellevue! The event promises to once again be full of fun with delicious Central Asian food and entertainment! Join us for a festive meal, dancing, fashion show, and more as we usher in spring!

DETAILS:

Date: Sunday, March 26, 2017
Time: 1 PM – 5:30 PM, or until the dancing ends!
Location: Vasa Park Ballroom, 3560 W Lake Samammish Pkwy SE, Bellevue WA 98008
Directions: http://www.vasaparkresort.com/contacts.html
Parking: There is ample parking right by the ballroom.

Please bring fruit and/or dessert to share.

REGISTRATION:

The cost for this event is $25 for ages 11 and up, and free for ages 10 and under.

Tickets are available for purchase here:

http://navruz2017.brownpapertickets.com/

Please purchase your ticket early to guarantee your spot. This event is very popular and has sold out the past few years, and we expect a similar turnout this year. There will be NO tickets available at the door!

You must present a PRINTED ticket to be admitted, so please print your ticket ahead of time and bring it with you.

We look forward to seeing you there!
–The STSCA Board

This year, presidential elections will be held in Uzbekistan on December 4th. On October 24, the Women’s Committee of Uzbekistan, together with the Central Election Commission, organized a nationwide workshop entitled , “Participation of women in elections”, at the Republican Press Center for covering the presidential elections.

More information on the upcoming elections and on women’s participation in them can be found on the Embassy’s website here:

http://www.uzbekistan.org/presidential-elections-2015/archive/7306/

Everyone is invited to the Seattle-Tashkent Sister Association Annual Meeting on Thursday, November 10, from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm, in the North Star Dining Room at North Seattle College.

Come meet the Board of Directors, hear about our activities for the past year, elect new Directors for the Board, and enjoy light refreshments.

We will also have a raffle for a beautiful suzanne from Urgut, courtesy of our friends from Music for the Eyes. This is a free raffle – no purchase necessary!

See you there!