:quality(70):focal(491x284:501x294)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/shawmedia/IWNJWSGNMCTQYIEVUOADYDG2YQ.jpg)
DIXON — The widespread technology outage that disrupted systems and industries across the globe last week delayed the arrival of some of the German delegates visiting Dixon for its sister cities celebration.
The Dixon Sister Cities Association was scheduled to welcome 25 delegates from Dixon’s sister city of Herzberg/Elster, Germany, on July 19, but the global outage delayed flights for 14 of the delegates.
Steve Caudillo, president of the Dixon Sister Cities Association, said Monday that despite the delay, the visiting delegates’ schedule remained unchanged, with 13 of the delayed delegates arriving in Dixon at 4 p.m. Tuesday, July 23 – just in time to join the delegation at the Next Picture Show, 113 W. First St., for a public meet-and-greet event. A second meet-and-greet will take place at the Crystal Cork, 219 W. First St., at 5 p.m. Friday, July 26. One delegate was unable to make the trip due to health reasons, he said.
The delegates’ arrival is part of a weeklong celebration commemorating the 25th anniversary of the sister city charter’s signing. While they are here, the delegates will spend their days exploring popular local attractions, such as the Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home, the John Deere Historic Site, the Dixon Park District and other notable landmarks.
Herzberg is located in the state of Brandenburg in Germany. The sister city relationship was formalized in Dixon on April 4, 1999, by Herzberg Burgermeister Michael Oecknigk and Dixon Mayor Donald Sheets. Burgermeister is a German term that translates to “master of the citizens.”
Dixon is a member of Sister Cities International and has other sister city charters with Dikson, Russia; Castlebar, Ireland; and Thika, Kenya. The idea behind the sister city charters is to increase global cooperation at the municipal level while promoting cultural understanding and stimulating economic growth. Over the years, delegates from Dixon have visited Dixon’s sister cities, and Dixon has hosted delegates from those sister cities.