August 2023 marks the 78th anniversary of the atomic bombings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom invites the public to attend the 19th Annual Peace Lantern Ceremony at Lovers Point Cove in Pacific Grove, CA on Saturday, August 5th, 7pm – 9pm.

The program opens with Taiko drumming by Shinsho-Mugen Daiko. All are invited to decorate lanterns with peace messages and images. The lanterns will be set afloat on the cove waters after dark. Shakuhachi (bamboo) flutist Jim Scott-Behrends will play as the lanterns serenely circle the cove waters, pulled by kayaks.
The event is held to remember those who suffered and still suffer from the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan, August 6 and 9, 1945, and to support complete nuclear disarmament.

Emcee: Beverly Bean, Chair of WILPF Monterey County Branch

Guest Speaker: Dr. Sharat G. Lin, medical physicist, is affiliated with Human Agenda and is a Board Advisor for the Initiative for Equality. He teaches, writes and lectures on global political economy, migrant labor, public health, environment, war and peace, and arts in social activism.

Program Schedule:
7:00 pm: Lantern making and performance of Monterey’s Taiko Drumming group, Shinsho-Mugen Daiko.
7:45 pm: Music, poetry, and brief stories and messages of hope and peace.
8:15 pm: Launching of the peace lanterns. Tai-Chi Master Jim Scott-Behrends will play meditative music on the Japanese bamboo shakuhachi flute while the peace lanterns, affixed to rafts, are pulled serenely on the cove waters by kayakers.

Visit PeaceCentral.org for more details.