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Weekend Trips: GrapeFest 1999 Festival Brings Fun, Food, Wine and History

City to City Accord Forges new Relationship Between Grapevine and Krems, Austria

By Lucas Everidge

Grapevine, Texas, September 7, 1999 --- Grapevine gains 20,000 members to its extended family on Saturday, Sept. 11, at 2:30 p.m. when officials from Grapevine and Krems, Austria, sign a "City to City" accord uniting the two communities as official "sister cities."

The "accord" outlines the similarities between Grapevine and Krems and list the hopes and commitments each is making to the other for the establishment of future relationships. The signing culminates two-years of work by both cities' officials and community leadership. In 1996, Parras de la Fuentes, Coahuila, Mexico, became Grapevine's first sister city. Representatives from Parras, Mexico will also be present for this signing ceremony.

"We have great aspirations for this relationship," says Don Bigbie, Chairman of the Grapevine Convention & Visitors Bureau. "We see so many opportunities to work together, to have cultural exchange, to learn from each others business successes and to develop new ideas that will be forthcoming as we get to know each other better," he continues. "We have certainly enjoyed and benefited from our relationship with Parras de la Fuentes, and it is a wonderful opportunity for Grapevine to extend its wings in friendship to Europe as well," Bigbie states.

The City to City Accord Signing Ceremony takes place in Liberty Park beginning at 2 p.m. with Austrian musical entertainment. A flag ceremony will follow along with presentations by Grapevine's Mayor, Wm. D. Tate, and Krem's Burgermeister (mayor), Franz Holzl. Following the reading and signing of the Accord, bells will be rung to commemorate the moment and a toast with Austrian and Texas wines will be made to conclude the ceremonies and celebrate the new relationship.

Krems is located on the Danube River in Lower Austria, an area known as "the land of art and culture - land of wine and good living." Lower Austria is the largest of all Austrian provinces, the Danube making a natural division between the north and south. Krems is an ancient city, being first noted in the annals of history in 995; in 1995 it celebrated its 1000-year anniversary. Krems is also well known for its Danube University, a graduate university known for its biomedical research. Krems also offers an extensive culinary and hospitality industry training institute as well as the International Management Center. A city of great architectural history and beauty, Krems sports many modern cafes, restaurants, shops and boutiques and is a modern, progressive city. Many historians rank Krems as the best restored medieval town in Europe and a place of many festivals which celebrate its vineyard and orchard industry.