North America

Known as "The Telephone City", Brantford is home to the Alexander Graham Bell Homestead National Historic Site. It was here that the great inventor conceived his idea for the telephone, an invention that forever changed the world of communications. Brantford is also the hometown of hockey legend Wayne Gretzky. Memorabilia from the career of "The Great One" and other local sports legends are on display at the Gretzky Sports Hall of Recognition.

Located an easy 1 hour drive from Toronto on the 403, Brantford is home to the meandering Grand River (designated as a Canadian Heritage river) and a stretch of the Trans-Canada Trail, attracting all sorts of outdoor enthusiasts. Many activities are just minutes away, including canoeing, hiking, fishing and bird watching.

The City is proud to be home to Her Majesty’s Royal Chapel of the Mohawks, the first Protestant church built in Ontario, the first Royal Chapel to belong to native people, and the final resting place of Captain Joseph Brant, the Mohawk leader for whom Brantford is named.

The City has satellite campuses of Wilfrid Laurier University, Nippissing University and Mohawk College.

Brantford has previously participated in the International Childrens Games in 2000 (Hamilton), 2004 (Cleveland) and 2006 (Thailand).

Hamilton is a densely populated area on the west end of Lake Ontario in Canada. The city is the location of the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum, a non-profit institution dedicated to amassing a collection of aircraft flown by Canadians from World War Two to the present. The town is also home to the HMCS Halida a warship that has the distinction of sinking more enemy ship tonnage than any other Canadian vessel. In recent years Hamilton has worked to develop its arts sector, in 2006 a Globe and Mail newspaper article entitled “Go West Young Artist” showcased Hamilton as a viable cultural market and drew a surge of young people to revitalize the area. Hamilton formerly hosted the International Children’s Games and will attend for the eighteenth time in San Francisco.

The city of 210,000 was originally the land of Sand Hills. It was inhabited by the Iroquois Six Nations Indians who sold land in 1800 to Southern German and Swiss Mennonites who were living in Pennsylvania , U.S.A. They created a town called the Berlin. In 1916, the name was changed to Kitchener in memory of Lord Kitchener, an English Military General.

Kitchener is located in the south central Canadian province of Ontario in the Grand River Valley watershed. It is the 10^th largest city in Ontario, 110 km SW of Toronto, 150 km NW of Niagara Falls. For 208 years, people have been attracted to Kitchener because of its diverse ethnic population and tolerance towards religious and cultural diversities.

The city is located at the heart of the Technology Triangle of Canada. Our largest regional employers are Waterloo District School Board, Conestoga College, University of Waterloo, Wilfrid Laurier University, Life Insurance companies (Manulife, Sun Life/ Clarica, Economical), Rogers Communications, Schneider’s meat packers, and Dare baked goods. Research in Motion (Waterloo ) & Toyota ( Cambridge ) are in adjoining cities.

Residents enjoy our 12 municipal community centres, 4 indoor & 4 outdoor swimming pools, 2 golf courses, 9 ice pads, 304 parks and 208 km of community trails. Our local sport clubs organize sporting needs from local to international calibre. The diverse artistic community encompasses art galleries, theatre, a symphony orchestra and philharmonic choir. Even our weather is as wide-ranging as our community. It can be 30C between May & September and -31C in January & February. Between April and September, the temperature may be 6C in the morning and 29C in the afternoon on the same day. Snow is common December to March.This winter we had 180cm.

Every year, Kitchener hostsvisitors from around the world at the largest Oktoberfest cultural celebration outside of Germany.

San José is the capital of Costa Rica and its largest city, with a population of nearly 350,000. The city has experienced an amazing rate of growth from its population of 8,600 in the 1950s. San Jose, which lies in Costa Rica’s central valley, is the political, economic and cultural capital with a lively social scene. The El Pueblo district hosts more than fifty bars along with clubs, restaurants and art galleries, and the National Theatre of Costa Rica showcases the best work of theatre artists and performers throughout the country. This is the first year San Jose will attend the International Children’s Games.

Montego Bay is one of the most picturesque locations in the world, in fact so many visitors come to the city that it houses the largest airport in Jamaica: the Sir Donald Sangster International Airport, as well as a port for cruise ships. Montego Bay is home to the Doctor’s Cave Beach, one of Jamaica’s most famous beaches, so named because it used to be a retreat for Sanatorium patients on the Island. While the clear turquoise waters and white sands are the beach’s main attraction it is also prized as a sheltered beach where swimmers of all levels can bathe safely. Historically a sugar port, Montego Bay’s economy now thrives predominantly on tourism. In San Francisco, Montego Bay will attend its third International Children’s Games.

Chesterfield lies in one of the oldest counties in the United States, in fact, Chesterfield County, Virginia was established before there was a United States. In 1749 the Virginia General Assembly decided Henrico County should be split in two, and the new county was named after the English Secretary-of-State Phillip Stanhope, 4^th Earl of Chesterfield. Early Chesterfield was a largely agricultural society, well known for their tobacco, so much so that the cigarette brand Chesterfield is named for the area. Chesterfield is also home to many historic parks and reenactment events. Visitors can experience the lives of early settlers while gardening, making candles and participating in mock town meetings. This year, Chesterfield will participate in their fourth International Children’s Games.

Cleveland, Ohio created Rock and Roll, well the term anyway. Popular Cleveland Disk Jockey Alan Freed is credited with naming the emerging music genre, and Cleveland hosted the first official “Rock and Roll” concert. When the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation decided to crate a museum to house the instruments, records and paraphernalia of legendary musicians, Cleveland’s history made it a natural choice. The city picked a waterfront location and I.M. Pei, who also designed the Louvre Pyramids, designed the Museum and the innovative building is fit to house some of the most innovative artists of our time. You can also thank Cleveland for your Spaghetti-Os; resident Hector Boiardi is responsible for developing the canned spaghetti products known as Chef Boyardee. Cleveland is a former host city, and will attend its tenth International Children’s Games in San Francisco.

Marion, Indiana is named after a Revolutionary War General. Francis Marion was known as the “Swamp Fox” of North Carolina not only because he set up his base in an impenetrable marshy area of the state but Marion also promoted the use of crafty non-open-battle tactics and is considered one of the fathers of guerilla-warfare and one of the predecessors of the Army Rangers. The founders of Marion, Indiana, along with thirty-six other cities in the USA, respected the general’s spirit of patriotism and innovation and named their town for him. Today Marion is the home of prestigious Indiana Wesleyan University, and the birthplace of several famous people including Zach Randolph, Stretch Murphy, Jim Davis- the creator of Garfield, and James Dean. In San Francisco, Marion will participate in its third International Children’s Games.

New York is the largest city in the United States and one of the world’s financial, social, cultural and political hubs. The city is famous for its cultural support, with more than 2,000 arts organizations and more than 500 art galleries within city limits; including the famous Metropolitan Opera House, the theatres of Broadway and the New York City Ballet. Numerous counter-culture movements also originated within city limits including the Harlem Renaissance in the 1920s, Hip-hop in the 1970s, and the Indie Rock movement in recent years. The city is home to the New York Yankees Baseball team, the winningest team in major league babeball history with 26 World Series Wins. New York City is attending its second International Children’s Games this year.

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In Rochester, New York you can eat a plate of garbage. At Nick’s Tahou Hot’s, a restaurant in Rochester, locals flock to order “The Garbage Plate:” a very customizable delicacy. Customers choose cheeseburger, hamburger, steak, hot dogs, white hots (another Rochester specialty similar to a Bratwurst,) Italian sausage, breakfast sausage, fish, fried ham, grilled cheese or eggs which are placed on top of any two of these sides: home fries, French fries, baked beans, or macaroni salad. The ENTIRE plate is then topped with mustard, onions and Nick’s special hot sauce. It also comes with bread and butter. It sounds like a mess, but it might make a journey to Rochester worth the trip. Rochester is participating in their first International Children’s Games.