Annika Garrison leads the Sister Cities through the group chant.
By Annika Good and Amelia Cooney – Manzanita City Reporters
Manzanita City hosted the annual open house for her sister cities, Palo Verde and Sycamore, after their first political party rally. The girls headed to the Manzanita lounge after a chant battle to display their party affiliations. With spirits high and broken voices, the girls excitedly went up the stairs.
The three cities congregated together after exchanging warm greetings and opened the night with their unique chants. Each selected a particularly enthusiastic city member to deliver the chants. Palo Verde started off with a Power Ranger-themed motto, “Go, Go, Palo Verde!” Sycamore followed with a classic “I say ‘Syc’ you say ‘city.’” Manzanita wrapped up the city chants with “Man-Zanita, Man-Man-Zanita.” However, all the cities came together to pay tribute to the Manzanita City theme, The Lorax. Annika Garrison led the group with the “I say ‘Let it’ you say ‘grow.’” Annika Garrison described the event, saying “It was an interesting experience to participate in such a large group of people with such diverse backgrounds and lead them in a unifying chant. It’s an experience I’ll never forget. ” The girls felt excited and ready to carry on with the night.
Candy was passed out as the cities began their prepared games. Sycamore suggested a creative mash-up between Rock, Paper, Scissors and Musical Chairs. This game provided an opportunity to further familiarize the girls with their sister cities. Manzanita Mayor, Amelia Cooney, played classic songs as the girls mingled around. When the music stopped, the girls had to find someone from a different city and interact while playing Rock, Paper, Scissors.
After the light-hearted game, the citizens gathered in the lounge once more to present the gifts the cities made for each other. The girls enthusiastically read each other’s words and bonded over the gifts.
To finish the night, Palo Verde led the girls through a game of charades. While there was no clear winner, the citizens enjoyed each other’s company and laughed whole-heartedly together. Mayors Isabella Nicholls (Sycamore), Paris Long (Palo Verde), and Amelia Cooney (Manzanita) closed up the night with a grateful message and hopeful wishes.