Lanterns for Peace Annual Event - Madison

Submitted by staff on Thu, 05/17/2012 - 1:45pm
Event Dates: 
08/06/12

Lanterns for Peace - Monday, August 6, at 7:00 PM.
Madison's annual commemoration of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Tenney Park Shelter, Madison (East Johnson St. at the Yahara River. Enter from Sherman Ave.)
 
Join us for Lanterns for Peace at the newly-built shelter at Tenney Park in Madison.  We will decorate peace lanterns to float in the lagoon and fold origami cranes to reflect on the lives of those who have died in war. There will be a sing-a-long and opportunities to contact your legislators to support nuclear weapons abolition. Refreshments will be served.  We'll have a short program at 7:30 PM and float illuminated lanterns in the Tenney Park Lagoon at dusk, around 8:40 PM. Please join us!
 
For more information, see below or contact Pam Kleiss at Physicians for Social Responsibility Wisconsin, info@psrwisconsin.org, or 608/232-9945.
 
Update from Japan, Peace Lanterns Mark A-Bomb Anniversary
Lanterns for Peace at Tenney Park on Monday, August 6

MADISON - On Monday, August 6, the anniversary of the first U.S. nuclear bombing of Japan, local peace and public health advocates will gather to call for a nuclear-free world.  This year's "Lanterns for Peace" at Tenney Park in Madison will feature a special guest from Japan, live music and families making and floating peace lanterns on the Tenney Park Lagoon.  The event begins at 7:00 pm.

The event features a special guest from Tokyo, Japan.  Yasuyo Ebihara-Okada, a Tokyo resident, mom and small business owner, will share her perspectives on living in Tokyo, just 150 miles from the Fukushima nuclear crisis.  Ebihara-Okada will share how her family coped during those months following the accident, and what changes they have made to their lifestyle due to the large radiation releases from the nuclear plant.

Lanterns for Peace commemorations are organized around the world each August, to remember the devastating impact of the nuclear bombs dropped during World War II.  The Madison event this year, the 67th anniversary of the U.S. bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, will also reflect on the continuing devastation faced by those in Japan, following the meltdown of the Fukushima nuclear reactors there.

At Lanterns for Peace, people of all ages remember those who have died in war and share visions of a peaceful world.  It is a family-friendly event, with live music, crafts and refreshments.  The event begins at 7:00 pm and ends at dusk, when participants float their illuminated lanterns on the lagoon.  At 7:45 pm, Dave Welo will lead a sing-a-long.  This year’s event also features a picture display and a collection of 7000 origami cranes donated by the Hiroshima Peace Foundation.

Lanterns for Peace is hosted annually by Physicians for Social Responsibility Wisconsin and cosponsored by the Wisconsin Network for Peace & Justice, Veterans for Peace - Madison, United Nations Association of Dane County and Madison Area Peace Coalition.

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