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Turning Japanese For Latrobe’S Sister Cities Celebration

Set the challenge of making two Japanese torii gates to be on display at this year’s Sister Cities Festival on 23 October at Kernot Hall,

By Latrobe City - 4th October 2011 - Back to News

has been quite a challenge for a small group of dedicated men from the Churchill Men’s Shed.

Japanese torii gates are traditionally found at the entrance to a Shinto shrine and have been a feature of Latrobe City’s annual Japanese Festival.

Latrobe City mayor, Councillor Darrell White, said that these newly created torii gates mean that Latrobe City now has it own set for this year’s Sister Cities Festival, and future events.

"This year’s Sister Cities Festival is a much anticipated amalgamation of the Japanese Day Festival and the Chinese Festival where we will jointly celebrate our sister city relationships with Takasago in Japan and Taizhou in China.

"The work involved in creating the torii gates was intricate and complex and the men worked solely from photographs. It’s a credit to their dedication and workmanship that the gates have been constructed so well," Cr White said.

Henry Parniak from the Churchill Neighbourhood House, said that the torii gates were a unique challenge for the group, having to design the gates from scratch, from only pictures provided.

"We were delighted to have been invited to help with the task. It was certainly a challenge to design and build something so intricate. We are very pleased with the finished product and feel proud that our handiwork will be displayed to the many hundreds of visitors who attend the Sister Cities Festival," Mr Parniak said.

Churchill’s Men’s Shed started two years ago and has been hard at work in the background supporting the community. The group has done a lot of work behind the scenes, with projects such as making quilting stands, improving facilities like chair rails and platforms for the quilting machine at the Neighbourhood Centre as well as making purpose built benches at the Men’s Shed.

"Our next challenge is to make a ‘Punch and Judy’ Theatre for the local playgroup," Mr Parniak said.

Cr White said that he hoped the community would support the upcoming Sister Cities Festival and its many cultural attractions.

"In the past both festivals – Japanese Day and the Chinese Festival – have drawn large crowds. This year, the added bonus of having the mix of activities, food, music, costumes and traditions from both cultures under one roof is an additional attraction," Cr White concluded.

The Sister Cities Festival will be held on Sunday 23 October at Kernot Hall.

For more information about the Churchill Men’s Shed contact Henry Parniak at the Churchill Neighbourhood Centre on 5122 2955.

Pictured with the torii gates are:

Henry Parniak, Jean Baudendistel, Stephen Mansfield, Theo Tewierik, Max Zygarlicki, missing from the picture are Charlie Ralson, Bert Penco, Alan Eagle, Orry Henczar and Leo Priems.

Media Enquiries:

Media Relations Team

Telephone: 5128 5458 or 0409 797 498

Stacey Greenwood, Acting Manager Community Relations

Telephone: 5128 5421 or 0401 824 195

Source: www.gippsland.com

Published by: news@gippsland.com

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