By Philip Sean Curran, Staff Writer
A 24-member delegation from Princeton’s sister city Colmar and surrounding area in Alsace, France, stopped in Princeton Thursday during a trip in America.
The group was greeted a reception in the afternoon at the Witherspoon Hall municipal building by Mayor Liz Lempert and the local host families that have agreed to put them up during their stay.
“We show them all aspects of Princeton living,” said former Borough Mayor Marvin Reed, who sits on a three-member committee, the Princeton-Colmar Sister Cities Association.
During the reception, singers from Princeton High School performed for the visitors, who were later treated to dinner.
This was the first visit by a Colmar delegation since 2007, said David Mallen, a member of the group who was making his first trip to Princeton.
Prior to consolidation, Colmar was the sister city of the then-Princeton Borough, a relationship started 28 years ago by then-Mayor Barbara Boggs Sigmund. The two communities shared cultural exchanges over the years, including youth basketball teams from the two countries visiting one another.
Mayor Lempert said having the sister city relationship helps Princeton “connect to the world.”
Today, Princeton has two sister cities. The other, Pettoranello, in Italy, had been the sister city of the former township.
