Scenes from the 2016 Art Exchange opening reception

Heavy snow cancelled school and the original reception of March 1, so the next opportunity at the town library to invite parents, grandparents, teachers and the general public to a performance of six children's and popular songs in Japanese by the 4th graders from Riley Elementary School was on March 21.

introducing "Somewhere Springtime"

M.C. Jenny McCampbell's opening remarks and background to this long-running annual exchange, rare among sister-cities in all of USA, https://youtu.be/EvyWvpF7LPw

Greetings by the 2014-2016 official representative from Shiga-ken in Michigan, Mr. Ueyama,
https://sjmi.wistia.com/projects/r984x0842u

Opening song, "Somewhere it's Springtime" (doko ka haru ga...), https://youtu.be/dEDfFk-eLCU
Other favorites include "Chi Chi Pa Pa" (The sparrows song),https://youtu.be/V-5Z1GpbSkc
and "Shabon dama" (The soap bubbles), https://youtu.be/F1B0bAZDu4o


The finale is the cherished song of Lake Biwa, emblem of Shiga prefecture

wide view, 2016 art exhibit installed

Our opening reception was postponed by the two days of school cancellations due to snow and wind. But this year's layout can be seen in these views, stitched from several individual pictures to form a panoramic view. [click the image for full size view]