"I've found quite a few, actually," Crabtree said.
So far, Danville's Sister Cities Committee has put a lot of hours into courting the right city, with brainstorming sessions stretching out over the last two years.
Thursday, it invites the public to come out and view a video put together about Carrickfergus.
Milton Reigelman, an English professor and director of international programs at Centre College, is the committee chairman. He has said that the benefits of a sister city program are numerous, such as participation in student exchanges, and the availability of private citizens participating in home exchanges for vacations.
After Reigelman's visited Carrickfergus in September, he came away excited about the potential.
Cities have similarities
Reigelman listed similarities between the two historic towns of Carrickfergus and Danville, including a brass band, golf and bowling, and parks and gardens. He also said Danville would have much potential to learn from Carrickfergus in areas such as recycling, environmental and infrastructure issues.
"We're so excited, and we hope they are as excited! We think we're going to be a perfect set. They have looked at quite a few other cities in the United States, and for whatever reason have felt they weren't a match for that city," said Kay Berggren, a Danville Sister Cities Committee member.
Crabtree said even though mostly the committee, made up of 10 people, has worked on the courtship, she hopes the community will become just as excited about the possibility.
"We need to do everything we can to make our city appear as if we really care about it," Berggren said, which she added is never hard for Danville to accomplish. "Danville always gives such a wonderful impression, but we need to continue that - especially in mid-March (when the Carrickfergus mayor will visit) when the weather can be sort of bleak in this area."
"We first invited them to visit during the Brass Band Festival, but Mayor (David) Hilditch only had this window of opportunity in March," said Reigelman. "But we were pleased they wanted to speed it up, too. It's been a long courtship. We're ready for this to happen."
Reigelman said if Carrickfergus moves forward with plans on pairing with Danville, the scenario would include a delegation of sorts that would then invite some committee members to visit Carrickfergus. He said after that, or possibly during the visit, there would be a sort of wedding.
"A ceremony between the two cities," Reigelman said.
"We hope to have some real exchanges which are not only official but very pleasant," Berggren said. "We want others to be a part of the committee some day, and we want this to be a continuing effort, not just something that's done in the short term."
