A Special Reception
in Celebration of the 15th Anniversary of the Vietnam Friendship Village,
the 20th Anniversary of Vietnam Friendship Village Project USA, and
Acknowledgement of the special role played by the Santa Cruz peace community

Sunday, March 10, 2013,
3:00 to 6:00 pm
Resource Center for Nonviolence
612 Ocean St., Santa Cruz
Multi-purpose Room

Please join us for:

The screening of a segment of “Forget Me Not,” LB Johnson’s documentary of the 1995 Santa Cruz delegation to Viet Nam

*A brief presentation from VFVP-USA board president Becky Luening with updates from Friendship Village

*Time to share memories and socialize with friends old and new. Light refreshments will be served. Donations to the Vietnam Friendship Village welcomed and appreciated!

Beginning in the early 1990s, individuals from the Resource Center for Nonviolence and the VFW Bill Motto “Wage Peace” Post 5888 were integrally involved in fostering a unique reconciliatory relationship between US citizens and former Vietnamese “enemies.” Santa Cruz hosted a delegation of high-ranking Vietnamese veterans for a historic “Day of Reconciliation” in 1994; a similar delegation visit took place in September 2002. In 1995, a delegation of Santa Cruzans including then-Mayor Katherine Beiers and City Councilperson Scott Kennedy traveled to Viet Nam to see the beginnings of the Friendship Village and tour the country from north to south as guests of the Veterans Association of Viet Nam. The “US Committee” of the Friendship Village was based in Santa Cruz and hosted peace & reconciliation themed events from time to time during these years.

FMI:  Becky Luening becky.pdx at gmail dot com