In its first move since Saline’s mayor, Brian Marl invited the town last September to the 25th festival, the town council and twinning association announced on Sunday night (January 23) it will discuss the invitation in a Zoom meeting on Thursday, February 10.
The council and twinning association has sent invitations to the Zoom meeting to “committee, members and friends,” and is expected to be chaired by Brecon mayor, Cllr John Powell.
But in an email to former Brecon and Radnor Express editor, Arwyn Evans two weeks ago, Saline Twinning Guild president, Jim Roth revealed Saline City Council, which runs the festival, has yet to make a final decision on whether it will take place. The reason for this being the high levels of covid which has swept the USA.
Mr Roth said: “The 25th festival remains on hold because of Covid. I don’t know when the city council will make a decision.”
The links with Saline - the first of three sister city and towns joined with Brecon - has run since May, 1966 when forward thinking aldermen and councillors, sitting as the former Brecon Borough Council, signed an agreement with Saline’s visiting mayor, George Anderson. It was the first American twinning by any UK town or city.
After many official visits from the Michigan city, Brecon mayor, Tony Elston and his wife, Liz, who died last month, made the first visit to Saline in November 1973, five months before the Borough Council disappeared in local government reorganisation, to be replaced in 1974 by the present town council. There have been more than 4,000 official and private visits both ways since Cllr Elston’s visit.
The last visit by a group from Brecon was in 2011 to mark the 45th anniversary of the twinning, but there were no visitors five years later to commemorate the 50th anniversary.
Saline, a rural city, has grown from a population of 2,500 in 1965 to 9,000 today and it sits one hour’s drive west of Detroit. Its name derives from French visitors in the 18th century who harvested salt from the city.
Those who wish to visit Saline can log in to the Zoom meeting at 6pm:
Meeting ID: 828 1731 9453 Passcode: 490031