Lanterns with messages of hope and peace on Green Lake. Photo by Martha Brice
From Hiroshima to Hope Annual Remembrance and Lantern Floating
Wednesday, August 6, 6:00 PM, Free
Created by the non-profit organization From Hiroshima to Hope with grant support from The Abe Keller Peace Education Fund, and sponsored by local community organizations
With music, poetry, and a lantern floating ceremony, From Hiroshima to Hope will shine hope and light on Green Lake on Wednesday evening, August 6, the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima on August 6 and Nagasaki on August 9. The annual remembrance event honors the victims of the atomic bombings and all victims of violence.
With 1,000 candle-lit lanterns floating on Green Lake, From Hiroshima to Hope is one of the largest commemorations of the atomic bombings held outside of Japan.
PROGRAM
6:00 PM - Lantern Preparation (everyone)
6:30 PM - Performances by Koto no WA and Heron Dancers
7:00 PM - Family Program
8:00 PM - Candle-lit Lantern Ceremony with Procession to the launch dock led by special guests, followed by everyone
The Family Program includes Seattle Kokon Taiko, Seattle Youth Poet Laureate Janae Lu, The Rhapsody Songsters, cello performance by Seattle-Japan Suzuki Institute, and Patrick Johnson on shakuhachi. The Keynote Speaker is Stan Shikuma, activist with Tsuru for Solidarity, and the emcee is Sharon Maeda, social justice activist and journalist.
The candle-lit lantern ceremony begins at 8:00 PM, with lanterns floating on the lake at dusk. The Procession will be led by Brothers Sanji Kanaeda and Gilberto Perez, Hibakusha (atomic bomb survivors), and other special guests.
This year also marks the 83rd anniversary of Executive Order 9066, which led to the incarceration of Japanese Americans on the U.S. West Coast.