This year marks the 30th anniversary of the sister city relationship between Canberra and the Japanese city of Nara.
The Canberra Nara Candle Festival will mark the occasion with a celebration of Japanese art, culture, and food, and more than 2,000 candles at Nara Peace Park in Lennox Gardens on Saturday 4 November.
The Mayor of Nara, Gen Nakagawa, the Ambassador of Japan, H. E. Kazuhiro Suzuki, and a delegation of students from Nara University High School will attend the event. They will ring the Peace Bell and light ceremonial candles as part of the festival’s official ceremony.
The festival began in 2003, as a tribute to the sister city relationship between the two cities on its tenth anniversary, and has become one of Canberra’s key cultural events.
“Today, our two cities continue to have a vibrant relationship with regular and increasing links between schools, cultural and sporting organisations, Rotary clubs, professional associations, businesses, and governments,” Chief Minister Andrew Barr said.
“The growing popularity of the Canberra Nara Candle Festival is a testament to a 30-year relationship built on warmth and respect.”
The Canberra Nara Sister City relationship was officially proclaimed in Nara on 26 October 1993.
The ACT Chamber of Commerce and Industry, in conjunction with the Nara Chamber of Commerce, proposed and sponsored Canberra and Nara’s sister city relationship after almost 20 years of regular contact between the two communities.
In 1999, Canberra Nara Peace Park was developed on the banks of Lake Burley Griffin to symbolise the friendship between the cities. It hosts the Canberra Nara Candle Festival each year in celebration of that friendship.
The festival is based upon a much larger candle festival, Nara Tokae, held annually in Nara.
To see the full program, visit events.canberra.com.au/nara.
