Lyndale Park Peace Garden in Minneapolis is one of the sites of the 2010 Hiroshima and Nagasaki commemoration events in the Twin Cities Aug. 5-8. The events mark the 65th anniversary of the atomic bombings of the two cities in Japan, the legacy of 20th century peacemakers, and the victims of the bombings.
The events at the Peace Garden include:
Thursday, Aug. 5, 6 p.m. – Formal tea ceremony by the Yukimakai Tea Study group. The ceremony occurs at the same time as commemoration events in Hiroshima. Music will be provided the Arden Consort.
Friday, Aug. 6, 7:30 a.m. – Ceremony of the Cranes. Former Minneapolis mayor Donald Fraser speaks at the ceremony. He was mayor when the original relic stone arrived from Hiroshima in 1985, which now marks the entrance to the Peace Garden Bridge. The program includes the story of Sadako Saski, a girl who developed cancer as a result of radiation released by the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. Told of a Japanese legend that people who fold 1,000 paper cranes will be granted a wish, Sadako folded over 1,000 cranes before her death at age 12. Wristbands with the names of bombing survivors, and on which people can write names of peacemakers, will be available at all the events to personalize the legacy of war and peace.
Friday, Aug. 6, 11 a.m., Ceremony of 11 Bells at the Spirit of Peace sculpture – Twenty women from Junshin High School and University in Nagasaki will join Veterans for Peace, Chapter 27, and Women in Black of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom.
All events are free and open to the public. The Peace Garden is located at 4124 Roseway Road.
For further information on other events, directions to the sites, and background information, visit www.wilpfmn.org/hn or www.stpaulnagasaki.org/events or call 952-922-0308.
