[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 15]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 21399]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  CONGRATULATING THE CITY OF PEABODY, MA, ON THE CELEBRATION OF THEIR 
                   20TH ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOHN F. TIERNEY

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 4, 2003

  Mr. TIERNEY. Mr. Speaker, on September 14, the City of Peabody, 
Massachusetts, will celebrate its Twentieth Annual International 
Festival, and I will be among the more than 65,000 people who will 
stroll around Peabody Square enjoying the vibrant array of arts, 
entertainment and foods of the diverse ethnic groups that enliven civic 
life in Peabody today.
  The International Festival was envisioned by former Mayor Peter 
Torigian, who initiated and continued the event as a way to celebrate 
the ethnic and cultural diversity of the city known historically for 
its important role in the leather tanning industry that was so much a 
part of the 19th and early 20th century economic history of our region. 
Under Mayor Torigian's hands-on leadership, the Festival grew 
exponentially over the years and has now been warmly embraced and 
fostered by current Mayor Michael Bonfanti, who serves as the 
International Festival's Honorary Chairman.
  Throughout these two decades of growth and change in Peabody, there 
has been one very constant presence involved in the International 
Festival--City Councilor Judy Selesnick, who has served with great 
skill and enthusiasm as Chairwoman and number one volunteer for the 
International Festival since its beginning. This Twentieth Anniversary 
year will be Judy's last at the helm; she has decided to retire from 
the chairmanship, though few doubt that she will continue to cheer from 
the sidelines as each year's festivities unfold.
  To Judy Selesnick, Mayor Bonfanti and Mayor Torigian, and to all of 
the citizens of Peabody who celebrate their diversity on this day and 
every day, my congratulations and best wishes for a most successful 
International Festival this year and my thanks to you all for your 
dedication to Peabody's rich heritage and hopeful future.

                          ____________________