To the Journal editor:

On behalf of the Marquette Area Sister City Partnership, we would like to thank the citizens who attended our “Clean The Closet” event (last Saturday).

This event was planned well before we knew about (COVID-19) omicron and we were in a large space for distancing, but we had no idea how the virus would affect the turnout.

We were pleased and thankful for the attendance and for the careful masking and behavior of those who attended.

Thanks to the Peter White Library and the Marquette Arts and Culture Center for the use of the space, and for always supporting our efforts.

By the way, we closed early because all the items we offered were gone 2 hours before the announced closing time. We apologize to anyone who came after the early closing.

The Marquette Area Sister Cities Board is a group of 17 volunteers from the community who oversee our relationship with Higashiomi, Japan and Kajaani, Finland.

The goals of the program are cultural exchange and international friendship.We have partnered with Japan for 42 years and Finland for 25 years. We hope to resume in-person visits and events whenever it is deemed safe.