The friendship between folks in Comarnic and Anacortes began in 2006 when a sizable contingent of Anacortes residents, led by Don Lapworth, traveled to Romania, primarily to visit a group in Comarnic that operated a children’s dance club, directed by Angela Nasulea. This international friendship blossomed from that time and continues today.

Around 2006, ASCA provided funds to assist the Comarnic children’s club, “Martha Bibescu” in the purchase of beautiful, authentic dance costumes. The club, made up mostly of children from early ages through the teenage years, has performed throughout Romania and in many European locations. The dream of ASCA members was to invite the dance group to perform in Anacortes. To the delight of ASCA members, Anacortes residents, and Arts Festival visitors, the group performed on the main stage at the 2011 and 2017 Arts Festivals.
In addition, there have been several adult groups of ASCA members who’ve traveled to Comarnic and toured other areas in Romania.

After 15 years of enjoying each other’s company, homes, history, food, and culture, on December 23, 2021, during a ZOOM conference, both cities signed a Sister Cities agreement. Signers included Mayors Laurie Gere and Sorin Popa, and Sister Cities presidents, John Lovric and Dalila Fulau. Only two months after the agreement was signed, Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, In the early stages of the war, almost a million refugees poured across the Ukraine/Romania border with several ending up in Comarnic.