The 20th anniversary of the twinning of Roscommon and Chartrettes will be celebrated this weekend when a group from Roscommon travel to the French town.
The Roscommon-Chartrettes Twinning was established in 1998 by the then Chairman of Roscommon County Council, the late Tom Foxe, and the then Mayor of Chartrettes, Monsieur Tino Petruzzi.
The mayors of the two towns signed the formal twinning agreement in 1998, with the aim of fostering cultural links and exchanges. Since then, many families and individuals have been involved, and regular visits have been organised between the two communities, all of which have helped to develop and foster friendships.
Twenty years on, a group of people will travel from Roscommon on a three-day visit. The group will leave Roscommon at 8.30 am on Friday, 22nd of June.
Cathaoirleach of Roscommon County Council, Cllr. Orla Leyden, said that it will be a great honour to represent Roscommon County Council at the celebrations in Chartrettes.
Cllr. Leyden thanked the Council for their continued support for Roscommon-Chartrettes Twinning. She also complimented the Roscommon Town Twinning committee for their hard work in organising the exchange and said that Roscommon would be well represented with wonderful traditional musicians, singers and dancers. She added that the Roscommon contingent will be accommodated in the homes of local families. “It will be a great opportunity to be exposed to French culture and language and a fantastic opportunity for the children and teenagers who are travelling to develop their French language skills”.
The Council Cathaoirleach said it is hoped that a group from Chartrettes will visit Roscommon Town (during the Roscommon Lamb Festival) in May 2019 to mark 21 years of the Town Twinning.
Meanwhile, current Chartrettes Mayor Monsieur Michel Bureau will welcome the contingent from Roscommon on Friday, 22nd of June. A monument will be unveiled in the town of Chartrettes to honour the 20th anniversary celebrations.
On the Saturday night, there’ll be the annual music festival on the Seine riverbank. This so-called ‘Fête de la Musique’ is a national event and the Irish musicians will be led on stage by Bill Cunningham, accompanied by Irish dancers. Sunday will be spent visiting Disneyland Paris and the small town of Provins, with a visit to Paris on the Monday.
