Sister city forum rescheduled

Westbrook’s sister city of Archangel, Russia, has postponed until July 2021 an international forum about wooden ship building planned for this month.

The forum will involve organizations from Finland, Norway and Sweden and will focus on the history, traditions, skill, restoration and tools used centuries ago to build wooden ships, Dennis Marrotte said. He and Dan Glover have been working with the Penobscot Marine Museum in Searsport, which has a created a virtual tour of the museum’s collection of wooden boats for the forum.

Marrotte said the sister city committee in Archangel is planning a Zoom conference in September for participating organizations

“A busy City with Port Access via the Northern Dvina River to the White Sea, Archangel is dealing with the COVID 19 virus just as we are here,” Marrotte said. “Social distancing and protective masks are required.”

Marrotte said Archangel is just below the Arctic Circle and has 24 hours of daylight this time of year.

“A popular outdoor activity is a leisurely walk along the embankment parallel to the Northern Dvina River,” he said.

Several towns and three cities, including Westbrook,  signed a Treaty of Friendship with a committee in Archangel in November 1988, Marrotte said.