A call for residents of Fort Frances and International Falls to gather in a show of solidarity.

The event is called Hands Across the Border.

Organizer Mary Watters is asking people to gather at either end of the International Bridge on Saturday at noon before meeting in the middle.

“People will on the walkway go to the plaque that is the borderline and hug or shake hands,” says Watters.

“This is an extension of goodwill and friendship.”

Watters says it is a way for the two communities to come together amid the trade tariff dispute between the U.S. and Canada.

The Duluth-born Watters attended elementary school in Fort Frances before finishing high school in International Falls.

She wants to ensure the relations the two sister communities have enjoyed continue.

“I have so many friends on both sides, and so many people from here were born at La Verandrye,” says Watters.

“Our families are intermarried and very close. And the way things are kind of (going), I don’t want there to be bad feelings between our towns just because things are happening in a bigger way in Ottawa and Washington.”