Dave Thomas and Estes Park Mayor Gary Hall met Friday afternoon to select a spot in the Estes Park Town Hall to hang the signed and framed Sister Cities partnership agreement between the Town of Estes Park and the municipality of Monteverde, Costa Rica.
A spot in the hallway across from the mayor’s office was selected. The document was signed on Oct. 3, 2025, by Monteverde’s Mayor Yeudy Ramírez Brenes and Vice-Mayor María Isabel González Corrales at the Estes Park Sister Cities Association’s annual membership meeting, which took place at the Estes Park Museum.
Estes Park created a sister cities relationship with Monteverde on Feb. 10, 2004, and the Estes Park Sister Cities Association was created in 2006 as a partnership with the Town of Estes Park. Both communities are tourist destinations concerned with ecotourism.
Over the years, the two communities have worked together to provide youth and adult exchange trips. A seven-person delegation from Monteverde visited Estes Park from Sept. 29 to Oct. 8, 2025. In March 2025, nine Estes Park High School students, along with their teacher chaperones, traveled to Monteverde.
Hall said the sister city relationship is “an important cultural touchpoint for Estes Park” that is “broadly symbolic of the ability of human beings across cultures and across the world to connect and live together in peace.”
“Like the First Peoples Festival in January, our Sister City agreement is important to realizing the connectedness of us all and the ever-present need for us to stay connected to help move the human race in the best, most noble, positive directions,” said Hall.