A testimony to hope, friendship and solidarity in the form of a quilt

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT

For immediate release

Gatineau, Quebec, February 28, 2014 — The Canadian Museum of History is showcasing the heart-warming results of a creative project by young people in Canada and Japan. Visitors during March Break will be inspired and moved by Kids to Kids Cloth Letters, on display from February 28 to March 16 near the entrance to the Canadian Children’s Museum.

The Kids to Kids Cloth Letters Project began as the initiative of Vancouver-based film director Linda Ohama following the earthquake and tsunami that devasted Tohoku, Japan, on March 11, 2011. Young people between the ages of 3 and 17 from across Canada wrote and painted messages on cloth squares to let Japanese children affected by the disaster know they cared about them. The cloth letters were sewn into a giant quilt that was sent to Japan so the young people there could see the messages from their Canadian peers.

The quilt that will be on display at the Museum is from the second part of the project that began at Yuriage Junior High School in Natori, part of the Tohoku area. Japanese children, moved by the gesture, responded by writing their own cloth letters back to Canada. The quilt they made will now be shown at the Museum of History.

The uplifting and moving Kids to Kids Cloth Letters, as they have become known, have been touring Japan since 2011, and are now touring Canada. Many of the letters incorporated into the quilts feature drawing of things like flowers, Pokemon characters and the Canadian flag.

For more information, visit www.historymuseum.ca or call 819-776-7000 or 1-800-555-5621.

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