Roanoke Valley Sister Cities

03/21/2026

03/11/2026

Plans are now underway for our biannual, community trip to Saint-Lô +, scheduled for summer 2027!

See the attached flyer announcing our first informational meeting, scheduled for Tuesday, April 7 @ 6:00PM at the Vinton Public Library.

A few quick facts about the next trip: 1) Leave from Dulles Airport on/about Monday, May 31, arriving in Paris on 6/1, taking bus/train immediately to Saint-Lô; 2) Spending five (probably six) full days in Saint-Lô, including le 6 juin for local ceremonies! 3) We then continue with a new travel partner to return to Paris for three days, then take the TGV to Provence for six days in/around Avignon and Nice! 4) Fly home from Nice on/about June 15.

Because this trip is not school-sponsored, it is open to community adolescents and adults in Salem and Roanoke City.

03/01/2026

On Friday, Feb. 27, 2026, Roanoke Valley Sister Cities donated a hand-carved and decorated Luo traditional stool to the Harrison Museum of African American Culture. It had been a gift from our sister city of Kisumu, Kenya, presented in 1990 to then-Mayor Noel C. Taylor.

01/19/2026

New Year's wishes from the mayor of St-Lo, city council and staff.

01/15/2026

Free language classes! It's not too late to join!

11/03/2025

Click link to join the virtual party in Florianopolis, Brazil!
Monday, Nov. 3, 2025
6 pm to 7 pm Eastern Time

https://meet.google.com/hix-pvzr-xuw

Hello everybody. This is John Makay. I am in Florianopolis, Brazil, for Roanoke Valley Sister Cities. Tonight, we invite you to a virtual cultural immersion event featuring mayors of Florianopolis and Roanoke speaking along with artist Thiago Valdi, discussing his projects with Roanoke with Roanoke artist Jon Murrill. We also will have experts talking about animals in the Brazilian forest along with our exchange students speaking about their science projects.

Florianopolis is a fabulous vacation opportunity you can learn about. It is the most amazing beach town I have ever seen. Log in tonight to show that Roanokers care about international exchange !!!

The event is between 6 pm and 7 pm on Monday, November 3rd. Please click the link above to join. We will be giving you information tomorrow to get the subtitles to translate, but also have translators on had if this fails.

Ciao !

09/11/2025

Korean Festival of Letters

09/11/2025

Intermediate Korean language lessons

09/11/2025

Beginner Korean language lessons

09/11/2025

4th annual festival!

06/07/2025

From today's Roanoke Times.
Bob Slaughter also founded the Roanoke/St-Lo Sister City committee:

Roanoke's Slaughter honored on House floor
BRIAN KELLEY
The Roanoke Times

Congressman Morgan Griffith, R-Salem, on Thursday honored Roanoker Bob Slaughter and other D-Day veterans in remarks on the floor of the House of Representatives in advance of the 81st anniversary of the Normandy landings.

In a five-minute address, Griffith noted the location of the National D-Day Memorial in Bedford and its link to the loss of 20 soldiers from the town on June 6, 1944, in the first wave of landings at Omaha Beach.

Slaughter served in Company D, 116th Infantry Regiment, and landed later that day. An Army staff sergeant commanding a machine gun squad, Slaughter and his men found a path that allowed them to maneuver behind German gun positions and engage with and destroy those wielding lethal fire on the beach.

Slaughter earned two Bronze Stars and Purple Hearts for his service in Europe.

After the war, Slaughter worked as a longtime pressman for The Roanoke Times & World-News. He also helped organize an eff ort to build a memorial to those who died during the D-Day landings. Working with others locally including Lucille Hoback Boggess — who lost two brothers on D-Day — Slaughter succeeded. President Bill Clinton signed the legislation that designated the National D-Day Memorial and President George W. Bush attended its dedication in 2001.

"The tremendous success of the memorial, the patriotism that it inspired and the stories (that) continue to be shared could be attributed to Staff Sgt. Bob Slaughter, Company D, 116th Infantry Regiment, 29th Infantry Division," Griffith said. "What mattered was their sacrifice, their strength to fight, their willingness to put their lives on the line so others could be free. What mattered was Bob Slaughter's drive to memorialize the countless sacrifices of his brothers in arms.

"To all our World War II veterans, to all the families of those who served on D-Day, and to Mr. Slaughter, our nation owes you a thank you, and I thank you for your extraordinary sacrifices on behalf of American liberty."

Slaughter died in 2012 and this year marks the 100th anniversary of his birth. His son was speaking on a panel discussion Friday in Bedford about his role in founding the memorial.

Griffith spoke beside an enlarged photo of Slaughter as a young soldier, with a quote from him: "I am proud to say that my generation helped save the world from tyranny ... I wouldn't change a thing, except to wish that my dear Army buddies could be here to see and touch the magnificent National D-Day Memorial that was built for us all."

Brian Kelley (540) 981-3377 [email protected]

05/20/2025

RVSC at Local Colors, May 17, 2025