PANYS Commemorates the 78th Anniversary of the Atomic Bombings
NEW YORK STATE SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
GLOBAL/ONLINE
SAT 8/5 – SUN 8/6 Nuclear Prayer Day Zoom Event. This global zoom room is open to all and will feature a compilation video of prayers from the seven continents. There will be space provided for discussion, reflection and community that people can join in on. Join this global event and discussion HERE.
ALBANY
SAT 8/5 @6:30PM (GRAFTON, NY) 78th Hiroshima Nagasaki Day: Commemoration Ceremony Remembering those lost to nuclear war. 6:30pm walk from Grafton Town Square to the Grafton Peace Pagoda (4.3 Miles). 8:00pm Program of Peace in front of Peace Pagoda including Lantern Ceremony, Interfaith Prayer, and Music. Contacts: Before Peace Walk contact Grafton Peace Pagoda, Nipponzan Myohoji (Japanese Buddhist order). For more information call 518-658-9301 8:00am-5:00pm.
SUN 8/6 @11AM (ALBANY, NY) Reading of John Hersey’s “Hiroshima” in Townsend Park (Henry Johnson Blvd. & Central Ave.) The event is free and open to the public and the public is encouraged to join in the reading. Those interested in reading can sign up to participate when they arrive. Please bring folding chairs. Rain site: Social Justice Center. “Hiroshima” by John Hersey tells the story of the bombing on August 6, 1945 by following the story of six of the survivors. The book version has been in print since 1946. Co-sponsored by the Poetry Motel Foundation, Tom Paine Chapter Veterans for Peace, Upper Hudson Peace Action. For more information contact Dan Wilcox, 518-482-0262, dwlcx46@gmail.com.
MON 8/7 @5-6PM (DELMAR, NY) BNP Vigil: Hiroshima Day” (at the Four Corners, intersection of Kenwood and Delaware Aves in Delmar.) During the final stage of World War II, the United States detonated two nuclear weapons over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9, 1945. We must never forget. Bring your own signs or use one of ours. Possible signs: “Ban Nuclear Weapons Now”, “Hiroshima, Never Again!” “Retire the Bomb,” “Remember Hiroshima and Nagasaki”, and “Stop the Arms Race” Stay for a few minutes or an hour. Hosted by Bethlehem Neighbors for Peace. 518-466-1192 for further information.
BINGHAMTON
SUN 8/6 @8AM Hiroshima & Nagasaki Remembrance Ceremony hosted by Broome County Peace Action and Veterans for Peace. Gather at 8:00 am at First Congregational Church, on the corner of Front and Main Streets in Binghamton, NY. The ceremony will include words of remembrance and prayer, music, and ringing of the great outdoor bell. Following that, we will process, with signs and banners, to the 10:00 am service at United Presbyterian Church, a few blocks away at 42 Chenango Street. As part of the service, our member-leaders will discuss our long-term concerns about nuclear weapons and our local efforts to raise awareness.
BUFFALO
WED 8/9 @8:30PM EST Online TALKING PEACE: Remembering Hiroshima & Nagasaki for a NuclearFree Future. Program will livestream on the WNYPC Facebook and YouTube channel. The program will also be aired on WBNY 91.3FM on the following Monday, Aug 14 at 1pm EST, with simultaneous livestreaming audio at wbny.buffalostate.edu. Featuring Martha Hennessy, Kings Bay Plowshares, Catholic Worker (CW), granddaughter of Dorothy Day (CW founder); Shannon Seneca, Haudenosaunee Environmental Engineer, Mohawk, Turtle Clan, Environmental Health Specialist working as Ass’t Faculty at Roswell Park’s Ctr for Indigenous Cancer Research, Alternate Member on West Valley Citizen Taskforce; Sameria Mbili, Past President Peace Action Canisius College, Member of WNY Peace Center (WNYPC); and Victory Ross, WNYPC Board Chair.
GENESEE VALLEY
SUN 8/6 @7:30PM 49th Annual Vigil for Hiroshima & Nagasaki. Genesee Valley Citizens for Peace (GVCP) will host their 49th consecutive vigil to commemorate and mourn the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. This vigil will be held on Sunday, August 6th, 7:30 PM at the Avon traffic circle on Routes 5&20. For more information, contact info@gvcp.org.
HUDSON VALLEY
SAT 8/5 @11AM-4PM (KINGSTON, NY) HIROSHIMA DAY at the Hudson Valley Park of Study and Reflections hosted by Pax Christi NYS. All are welcome. Events include: –Screening: Appreciation—The Tomiko Morimoto West Storya 20-minute film featuring Tomiko Morimoto West, a survivor of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. The showing will be followed by a Q&A with director Michael Dwyer. –Dance performance by Yuri Ogasawara “War and Peace” project –Screening: The Beginning of the End of nuclear weapons produced by Pressenza –Music performance by Mark Lesseraux
SUN 8/6 @12-8PM (KINGSTON, NY) 13th annual Bon-Odori Dance Festival for Peace at Kingston Point Beach. The traditional Japanese Buddhist “Bon-odori” Dance Festival held in August is to observe “Obon”, the ritual of remembering our ancestors and reconnecting with family and friends. Here in Kingston, we have expanded on this exciting summer event to celebrate our community by featuring clean energy, local businesses and farms, arts and culture and the spirit of healthy living to take steps toward a Nuclear-Free Future – “No Nuclear Power and Wars”. Members of PANYS will be tabling at this event! View the event on Facebook here. Send an email to bonodorimail@gmail.com for registration and any questions.
LONG ISLAND
SUN 8/6 @5PM (BELLPORT, NY) 41st Annual World Peace Vigil & Community Dedication to Peace Commemorating the 78th anniversary of U.S. nuclear destruction of Hiroshima & Nagasaki. Sponsored by South Country Peace Group. At 5pm: Meet at the Peace Pole at South Country Library. Silent Procession begins at 5:15pm to Osborn Park by Village Marina (end of Bellport Lane). At 5:45pm: Program will begin at Osborn Park by Village Marina. Participants will share Visions & Actions for Peace. Invocation from Jason Neal, Deacon, Old South Haven Presbyterian Church; Special Guest Margaret Melkonian, Long Island Alliance for Peaceful Alternatives; Nuclear Weapons/Budget Updates from Paul Ames; Closing by Michelle Santantonio. You may wish to wear white, the traditional Japanese color of mourning. Bring a chair or blanket. Bring signs (e.g.: Tell Pres. Biden: Sign TPNW! NUCLEAR WEAPONS ARE ILLEGAL! Support H. Res.77!) Event is co-sponsored by PANYS, LIAPA, Social Justice Committee of the UU Congregation of Shelter Rock, Veterans for Peace LI Chap.138, and more. For more information, contact southcountrypeace@outlook.com.
NEW YORK CITY
THURS 8/3 @3-5PM Hiroshima-Nagasaki Memorial Origami Workshop at the Manhattanville Community Center (530 W 133rd St.) This event is part of the “Learning History, Creating Our Future” project, a series of exhibitions and events at the Manhattanville Community Center that explore paths to a healthy, peaceful future by learning about the beginnings of the Manhattan Project, which developed the atomic bomb in NYC. For more information, email key4yoyo@gmail.com.
THURS 8/3 @6PM Film Screening Q&A and reception with the filmmakers of 8:15 Hiroshima | From Father to Daughter. At 777 United Nations Plaza, 2nd floor. This project was a labor of love to share Shinji Mikamo’s first person account of the horrors of nuclear war and the power of resiliency, love & forgiveness. At 8:15am on August 6, 1945, Shinji Mikamo, a teen in the center of Hiroshima City, was on the roof of his home when the atomic bomb exploded. This hybrid documentary is narrated in English with Japanese subtitles and features never before seen audio and video recordings, evocative reenactments, and archival images. Learn more and RSVP HERE.
SAT 8/5 @12PM Noon Pax Christi Metro NY Commemorates the 78th Anniversary of the Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. (Union Square, NY, gather on the west side of the park near the Ghandi Statue.) Pax Christi Metro New York invites you to join in Prayer and Public Witness on the occasion of the 78th Anniversary of the Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Join us for: Prayer for those who have suffered the effects of nuclear weapons development and use; a Moment of Silence; the Ringing of a Gong 78 times for the 78 years since the tragic dawning of the nuclear age; Leafletting to inform and invite action to abolish nuclear weapons; and Music to end our commemoration.
SAT 8/5 @12-5PM at Tompkins Square Park, NYC (near Avenue A & St. Mark’s Place). Hiroshima-Nagasaki Outdoor Exhibit hosted by NYC War Resisters League. 20-panel exhibit about the bombings & actions against nuclear weapons to the present. For more information, visit nycwarresisters.org.
SAT 8/5 @5pm 30th Annual Interfaith Peace Gathering – Hiroshima Day (at St. Marks Church in-the-Bowery, 131 E. 10th St.) This is event 1 of 3 in the 30th Annual Interfaith Peace Gathering organized by the Heiwa Peace and Reconciliation Foundation of New York. Aug. 5th Program Schedule: 5:00pm -7:15pm Interfaith Prayer, Peace meditation and music performance 7:15pm – Peace Bell Ring (moment of A-Bomb to Hiroshima 8:15AM on August 6, 1945) 7:30pm – 8:40pm Play “Face of Jizo”(English) A Facebook Live livestream will be available. Go to: heiwafoundation.org/activities and facebook.com/HeiwaPRF for more information.
SAT 8/5 @6:30-7:30PM Universal Peace Day Peace Bell Ringing Ceremony at Pier 46, Hudson River at Charles St. Join Universal Peace Day and connect with people around the world by ringing bells at the moment of the bombing (in Japan, August 6, 8:15am; in NY, August 5, 7:15pm). Over the centuries, the bell symbolizes wisdom and compassion. At 6:30pm, artists will share Visions of Peace with poetry, dance and music. At 7:15pm, the moment of the Hiroshima bombing, join in a Peace Bell Ringing Ceremony, followed by a minute of prayers for peace and then singing of John Lennon’s Imagine. All are invited to ring bells. Universal Peace Day brings people around the world together to share their vision of peace and to transform a remembrance of horror into a rededication of life. For more information, contact organizer SuZen at ringbellsbells4peace@gmail.com.
SUN 8/6 @10AM – 4PM Protest the Intrepid’s Hiroshima Day “Birthday Party” – A Time to Mourn, Not to Celebrate! Instead of honoring the more than 200,000 people who lost their lives at Hiroshima and later Nagasaki, the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space “Museum” is hosting a “Happy Birthday, Intrepid” party for children on the warship that day. The ship’s actual anniversary is Aug. 16. See our letter to the Intrepid. Join a coalition of peace and antinuclear organizations this August 6th as we demand the Intrepid publicly acknowledge the gravity of this date and call for a world free of nuclear weapons. There are two ways to join. Please join at either of the below locations and stay for as long as you choose. 10:00 am: Meet at the Intrepid (46th St. & 12th Ave.) for leafleting, folding paper cranes, vigiling, sign & banner holding —or— 10:30 am: Meet in Times Square (43rd St. & 7th Ave.) 11:00 am: March to the Intrepid (46th St. & Hudson River) 11:30 am: Demonstrate at the warship (leafleting, vigil, picketing, etc.) If you’re on Facebook and are able to join us, please check “going” on the Facebook event page! Sponsors include NYC War Resisters League, PANYS, Brooklyn For Peace, and many more.
SUN 8/6 @1-2PM (STATEN ISLAND) Hiroshima Day Concert with the Mighty String Demons! at the Unitarian Church of Staten Island, 312 Fillmore Street. Young Staten Island violinists The Mighty String Demons, whose members are currently aged 8 to 17, will use music and the story of Sadako to offer a message of world peace in commemoration of the 78th anniversary of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The violinists will be joined by Nicole Azzarelli on guitar and Kazuo Nakamura on bass. Following the performance, they will teach audience members how to make an origami paper crane. The concert is free, open to the public, and family-oriented. This event is being presented in collaboration with Peace Action Staten Island, who share a vision of world free from the nuclear weapons threat. This concert is made possible (in part) by an Encore Grant from Staten Island Arts, with public funding from the New York State Council on the Arts. View the Facebook Event Link.
TUES 8/8 @12-1PM Peace Gathering to Commemorate the 78th Anniversary of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in front of the Japanese Consulate at 299 Park Ave (48th St), NYC. Organized by Manhattan Project for a Nuclear-Free World. To honor the memory of those who lost their lives to the atomic bombings, a coalition of people and peace groups will gather in front of the Japan Consulate General in NYC. The coalition’s conviction is that nuclear weapons must never be used again. The message of peace from hibakusha to the people of the world is an appeal for all to realize a world free of nuclear weapons. For more information, view the event on Facebook.
TUES 8/8 @2PM-10:30PM 30th Annual Interfaith Peace Gathering -Nagasaki Day (at Japan Society, 333 East 47th St.) This is event 2 of 3 in the 30th Annual Interfaith Peace Gathering organized by the Heiwa Peace and Reconciliation Foundation of New York. Aug. 8th Program Schedule: 2pm -8:30pm A-Bomb & Peace Art Exhibition, Origami Workshop, Films 6:00pm Part 1 – Theatrical Play “Face of Jizo” (Japanese with English translation) 8:30pm Part 2 – Music Performance, Interfaith Prayer, speakers 10:02pm Peace Bell Ringing (moment of A-bomb to Nagasaki on August 9, 1945 at 11:02AM) A Facebook Live livestream will be available. Go to: heiwafoundation.org/activities and facebook.com/HeiwaPRF for more information.
WED 8/9 @2PM 30th Annual Interfaith Peace Gathering –for the future world (at the Church Center for the United Nations, 777 United Nations Plaza.) This is event 3 of 3 in the 30th Annual Interfaith Peace Gathering organized by the Heiwa Peace and Reconciliation Foundation of New York.
Aug. 9th Program Schedule: 2p-3:30pm Part 1: Interfaith prayers, Keynote Speaker, and Music performance. 3:30p- 4:30pm Part 2: Theatric play “The Face of Jizo” A Facebook Live livestream will be available. Go to: heiwafoundation.org/activities and facebook.com/HeiwaPRF for more information.
SYRACUSE
WED 8/9 @4:30PM HIROSHIMA/NAGASAKI DAY. Syracuse Peace Council and Veterans for Peace invite you to observe the 78th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki with a procession on the new Erie Boulevard pedestrian/bike path. On August 9, assemble at the Center for Peace and Justice, 2013 E. Genesee St. at 4:30 pm; the procession begins at 5:00 pm and returns at 6:00 pm, followed by program, conversation, and refreshments. For more information, email spc@peacecouncil.net.
If you have any questions or would like to have your event added to this list, please email info@panys.org.
