Below is a list of upcoming journeys for our club. If you are interested click on any of the journeys to learn about that journey. Click here to learn more about our club or here to join. Incoming from Sacramento, CA (May 1-9, 2017) Incoming from Lower Columbia, WA (September 2017) Outgoing to Taipei and Kaohsiung, Taiwan (November 1-16, 2017) Requests for Germany Journey...
The Crazy for Quilting journey was a great success! Here’s a day by day description of the fun. Friday, Sept. 30 The Friendship Force of Cedar Rapids/Iowa City welcomed 18 Ambassadors at Wickiup Hill Nature Center! Our club has prepared a Best of Iowa dinner, featuring roast pork loin and side dish pot luck. In the spirit of Friendship Force, 5 Ukrainian educators and...
In September, 2016, 17 ambassadors made a visit to the Friendship Force club of Lansing, Michigan. The journey to Lansing in September offered warm hospitality, comfortable weather, lots of interesting activities, renewal of friendship made when they visited us and created many new friendships. This was an opportunity to reconnect with club members who visited Cedar Rapids in June 2015. With our Lansing hosts,...
We completed a successful journey hosting 17 ambassadors from Nashik, India on July 8. Our guests were able to experience home hosted lunches, a walk through the Brucemore gardens, a visit to the Czech and Slovak Museum; 4th of July festivities including fireworks; a day in Jones Count included learning about artist Grant Wood, a visit to Weber Stone, the motorcycle museum and winding up with dinner at...
As we continue to build intra-state relationships, ten club members enjoyed overnight hospitality from our friends in the Central Iowa club (Ames) on July 16, 2016. It started with a tour of Reiman Gardens with hosts, then a walking tour of several art installations on the Iowa State University campus led by Ames club member, Dennis Dake. We learned about the artists and their...
Eleven ambassadors gathered at a B&B in central London a couple of days before our Wessex journey was to begin and we did some touring on our own. On Sunday June 5, we all took a two-hour train ride to southern England to meet our Wessex hosts and begin our week long adventure with our new friends. Even though their club is small, they...
From August 6 to 8, 2015, the club experienced its first intrastate journey hosting nine ambassadors from the Quad Cities club. After a salad lunch, the group experienced all things Grant Wood – his studio at Turner Allen, Grant Wood art at the Stewart Library at Coe, Wood’s war memorial stained glass window at Veterans Memorial Building, and Works Progress Administration murals at City...
The first annual all-Iowa picnic had an amazing turnout – 79 people from the four Iowa Clubs: Cedar Rapids, Des Moines, Central Iowa and the Quad Cities. Highlights included a catered lunch, brief updates from Midwest Region Representative Adrienne Moen and each Club President. All enjoyed the Marian Wetjen story and word game, Connie Williams’ corn hole tourney, great conversation and fellowship. Several persons...
July 14-20, 2015, Marian Wetjen, journey director, led 18 ambassadors on an journey to Mid-Willamette Valley in Oregon. Ambassadors from Iowa included Audrey Bradford, Darlene Peterson, Stephanie and George Schulte, Pat and Vic Klopfenstein, Trish Kaiser, John Giegerich, Donna and Joe Ironside, Mary Ann and Larry Nelson and Darlene and David Tammel. They were joined by RoseMarie Everett and Natalie Cheng from California and...
Reflections of the Niagara Exchange Oh Canada! What a wonderful time our Cedar Rapids/Iowa City Friendship Force Ambassadors had during our journey to Niagara Canada. From our Welcome Dinner at the First Grantham United Church Hall where we met our new friends and rekindled friendships with those we had previously hosted, to our Farewell Dinner at the Port Dalhousie Legion Hall, we were...
From June 21-28, 2015, 14 ambassadors from Lansing, Michigan, experienced warm, Iowa hospitality and discovered that Iowa is not a flat state. Monday, June 22 and Thursday, June 25, the group visited interesting sites in Cedar Rapids including the Paramount Theater, Public Library, the Mother Mosque, Grant Wood’s studio, the National Czech and Slovak Museum and more. Tuesday, June 23, Hoover library and Old...
May 15th – 23rd Agri-business development was the focus for an Open World program for delegates from Azerbaijan. Activities included a day at Iowa State University, a visit to the John Deere plant in Waterloo and a visit with local representatives to the Iowa legislature and in Congress. In Cedar Rapids the program included visits to Diamond V Mills headquarters, Kirkwood Community College and...