October 2021 Blog

 

Happy October from Lexington Sister Cities!

Highlights so far:

• Starting off the month, we sponsored an event with the Lexington Children's Theatre, JASK, and the Japanese Center for Global Partnership. The Japanese Culture and Cuisine Festival along with the premiere of Shoyu Tell was a success! We thank everyone that came and participated in this fun event. 

Logo for Event

Logo for Shoyu Tell: A World Premiere

A great highlight of the day-- Taiko Drummers from Cincinnati! 

 Participants got to try on authentic Yukata and get their photo taken

A peek at the Origami table. Lots of fun animals and shapes were made!

What's New?

• The 2022 Student Exchange Applications are due November 5th! Find out more information on the Student Exchange portion of our website, lexingtonsistercities.org/student-exchanges.

• YAAS 2022 Competition Theme has been announced:  Generation Rescue: Sustainable Water for All.  Applications will be sent to all Lexington high school and middle schools within the next few weeks.  

Halloween in our Sister Cities

Newmarket, England

Newmarket is a great place to celebrate all things spooky for Halloween! Typical events in town include a tour of their Palace House by torchlight, a Harvest Trail, and "Fright Night" at the local National Horseracing museum. A typical Fright Night evening in Newmarket includes hot chocolate and mulled cider! 

County Kildare, Ireland

County Kildare and the towns within it have fun activities going on for Halloween! This year there will be a Halloween Festival at Clonfert Pet Farm, featuring a pumpkin patch, arts & crafts, a carnival, disco, and even a Haunted House! County Kildare also hosts a "Halloween Spooktacular" at the Irish National Stud & Gardens with a spooky tunnel, magic shows, and so much more.

Deauville, France

French citizens do celebrate Halloween, especially younger French generations. However, it is not as popular as it is here in the United States. They do celebrate a popular holiday called La Toussaint (All Saints Day) on November 1st. Traditionally, it is a day to celebrate the Catholic Saints. Over the years it has formed into a holiday to remember the dead--often symbolized through the chrysanthemum flower.

Shinhidaka, Japan

Japanese citizens tend to not participate in 'trick or treating'. However, they do use Halloween as an opportunity to dress up in lots of costumes and participate in fun activities like zombie runs and street parties. Typical costumes in Japan range from classic themes, such as witches and wizards, to some of their favorite anime characters. Although there is no 'trick or treat' tradition, there are still lots of sweet treats to eat on Halloween!

Cook with Us!

Oatmeal Bread

From the Kitchen of Mary Parlanti

1 cup warm water, divided

2 tablespoons sugar

2 packages dry yeast

2 cups boiling water

1 cup oatmeal

3 tablespoons shortening

1/2 cup molasses

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 tablespoon salt

7 cups all-purpose flour (about)

Melted butter

    In a small bowl, mix 1/2 cup warm water, sugar and yeast together. Allow to stand until bubbly. Pour 2 cups boiling water over oatmeal in a large bowl. Stir. Add shortening, molasses, brown sugar, baking soda and salt and cool to luke-warm. Add yeast mixture, then rinse yeast mixture bowl with remaining 1/2 cup warm water and add to oatmeal mixture. Add 2 cups of the flour and beat very well. Add more flour, one cup at a time, beating well after each addition. 

    When dough becomes too stiff to stir, turn out onto a floured board and knead in the remaining flour. Knead until the dough is smooth and satiny. 

Note: If desired, knead all the flour into the dough using an electric mixer. Continue mixing with a dough hook until it becomes smooth and shiny, about 10 minutes. 

    Grease a large bowl with butter. Form the dough into a ball and place in the bowl and turn to coat all sides with the butter. Allow to rise until double in size. Punch down and divide into two pieces. 

    Grease 2 large loaf pans, or 3 medium-sized pans. Shape dough into loaves and put one into each pan. Cover with a cloth and put back in warm place to rise until doubled, about 45 minutes. 

    Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes. Remove from pans and cool on wire racks. Brush tops with melted butter while bread is still warm.