Third Annual Woodstock International Walk for World Peace—photos

Thanks to all who came to our Third Annual Woodstock International Walk for World Peace!

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A Call To Peace

Fumi Johns-Stewart of the World Peace Prayer Society has generously offered to provide transportation from Woodstock to Amenia & back, to attendees of this year’s Woodstock International Walk for World Peace, to the World Peace Prayer Society’s “A Call To Peace”, on September 25th, 2011. We will have sign-up sheets on site, and invite you to attend.

We thank the World Peace Prayer Society for their generosity, and for their participation in all of our Walks for Peace, and for all the Peace Poles they plant—I’ve counted three in Woodstock; one at Family, one at Comeau Field, and the Peace Pole on the village green.

But it isn’t just their material generosity we have to be thankful for, but their generosity of spirit, as well. Just the idea of “May Peace Prevail On Earth” may be more valuable to humanity than we know, and we are thankful that Masahisa Goi started this valuable work in 1955, and pray that the seeds of his idea continue to grow fruit.

Two days!

The weather forecast is good for Woodstock, NY this Saturday, August 6, 2011, and we are looking forward to our third annual Woodstock International Walk for World Peace! We gather between at 10:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. in the parking lot (no parking here, though; use one of Woodstock’s Municipal lots, please) at the intersection of routes 212 and 375, where water will be available (thanks to Hurley Ridge Market, and Michele Elyse Flanders). The World Peace Prayer Society is once again bringing the flags of 193 countries, to be distributed before the walk. The walk begins at 11:00 a.m.; we will proceed through town to Comeau Field, where we will hold the Flag Ceremony, a peace paint-out, talks, and performances by Denise Jordan Finley & Daniel Pagdon, James Cannings, and others. The Parrots for Peace™ will once again be on hand, too; as will Terry Leroy of the Haitian People’s Support Project.

This year’s walk falls on the 66th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima, an horrific event that we commemorate each year by holding our walk for peace on the weekend closest to the anniversary. We once again affirm that we never again wish to see such horror, and state that we all will do what each of us can to bring about a more peaceful world. The date of August 6th is known as Universal Peace Day, though the event is often observed in the United States on August 5th, due to the International Date Line.

We can all do more to bring about peace; we can show kindness whenever possible, and work with others to produce a more sustainable world. A sustainable world is a peaceful world, as sustainability would mean providing water, food, housing, safety, education for every human being—no one left behind. In the United States, this might mean strengthening and increasing enforcement of the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act, moving away from fossil fuels, and writing our local and federal representatives, urging less investment in the machinery of war, more investment in jobs, education, and infrastructure; less political posturing, and more substantive action. It might encompass reducing one’s energy use (we have one of the world’s highest rates of energy consumption) and eschewing some rainforest products (palm oil = bad), while using others (brazil nuts = good).

One thing is certain, every society that has not embraced the ideas of peace and sustainability has eventually failed; this is attested to in Jared Diamond’s books Guns, Germs, and Steel, and Collapse; and more recently in Brian Fagan’s Elixir: A History of Water and Humankind.

When we contrast those collapsed societies with the Aboriginal communities of Australia, the oldest continually operational society on earth, we find that the aboriginies have a deep reverence for nature that has enabled them to live for 40,000 years in one of the harshest environments on earth, and that peace and the environment can’t be separated.

Join us this Saturday, August 6, 2011, as we walk and pray for peace!

Third annual Woodstock Walk

This year’s Woodstock International Walk for World Peace is scheduled to begin at 11:00 a.m., Saturday, August 6, 2011. We will meet at the parking lot at the intersection of routes 375 and 212 in Woodstock, NY, where the flags of every country will be handed out for our procession through town to Comeau Field, where the World Peace Prayer Society will once again hold the Flag Ceremony.

We hold this walk each year to reaffirm our commitment to peace. The walk is always held on the weekend closest to the anniversary of the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima in 1945, to recognize that we never again wish to see nuclear weapons used. We hold that all life is sacred, and that there is no such thing as a “just” war. The only way to peace is through peace, and we support the peaceful resolution of all disputes. This year’s walk happens to fall on the actual date of the bombing, and we will say a prayer for the casualties of this horrific event.

Our founder, John Nelson, is in Hiroshima, setting up events there for Live Peace International, a worldwide event where concerts for peace will be streamed live from venues throughout the world. More info is available on YouTube, and I’m awaiting more details from John; as soon as they are made available I will post them here.

The same goes for events at the third annual Woodstock International Walk for World Peace; as performers and speakers are confirmed, we will post them here. The Parrots for Peace will once again be on hand, too. We look forward to seeing you all there! Peace and Love!

Thanks!

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I hope you enjoy the slide show above (all photos © 2010 Cameron Williams or © 2010 Doug Potoksky, all rights reserved); this is the first opportunity I’ve had since Sunday’s second annual Woodstock International Walk for World Peace to say thank you to all of you who helped make our event a success.

First, thanks to the legendary Pete Seeger, to whom the Woodstock Council awarded the first “Noble Peace Prize”.

Pete Seeger’s "Noble Peace Prize”

Thanks also to Joyce Beymer, and all the wonderful folks at the Woodstock Chamber of Commerce and the Arts, Woodstock Town Supervisor Jeff Moran, Woodstock Police Chief Clayton Keefe and the Woodstock Police Department, Terrie Rosenblum, Cathy Magarelli, Bill McKenna, Jay Wenk, Angela Sweet, Jacquelyn A. Earley, Michael Reynolds, Paul Andreassen, Ray Brundage, who was so helpful in setting up Comeau Field, Adam Slagsvol and all the other folks at American Printing, Michael and Ziedel Epstein at Hurley Ridge Market, Nick Altomare, Mark McDunna, Fumi Stewart and The World Peace Prayer Society, Gloria Waslyn and The Parrots for Peace, Victorio Roland Mousaa, Princess WOW!, founder of The Smile Revolution, Mary Poppiins, Caitlin O’Heaney, Hank Woji, Luke Hunzberger, Norman (who played and sang, and whose last name I don’t know), Mighty Xee, Christina Valentine and Monica, Tinya Seeger, Phil Sauers, Sonia Malkine, who repeated her moving rendition of Pete’s song “Where Have All The Flowers Gone”; Greg Reitman and Britta Peterson of Blue Water Entertainment, who are filming Rooted in Peace, Russell Richardson of the INDIE project, and Marie Uridia, also of INDIE, who filmed our walk; Carol Johnson, Catskill Mountain Plumbing & Heating, Vivo Gallery, and Cucina restaurant; David and Fiona Saxman of The White Gryphon, Catskill Mountain Pizza, Reverend Josh Bode of the Dutch Reformed Church (congratulations!), Bill McKnight and Melinda Terpening McKnight, Doug Potoksky; the inimitable Father Jack Nelson, without whom this would not be possible; Elaine Maggiore, B. Vos, Michele Elyse Flanders, Bob Place, Tony Angel, Pierre and Terry LeRoy of the Haitian People’s Support Project, and anyone else whose name I may have omitted. Special thanks also to Ronnye Jai and Alan Shapiro, who serve as inspiration to us all. Peace! —CW

Countdown!

A photo from last year's walk. ©2009 Doug Potoksky

We have less than 24 hours left until the Second Annual Woodstock International Walk for World Peace, and much to do!

Went to the Beacon Sloop Club potluck last night to make final preparations with Victorio Roland Mousaa and Pete Seeger, and we’re going to see them at the Peace Corner in Wappingers Falls today; also sound check, meeting Jack Nelson, and lots more to do. Thanks to everyone at the sloop club for their generosity toward Tony Angel’s Spirit Journey; we raised $120.20 for Tony last night, which we will deposit in his account this morning.

What is clear is the need for a more peaceful world. The best thing we can do is to be the change that we wish to see in others; we state again that if each of us is dedicated to a more peaceful world, we will have one. Please come support us in our mission by walking with us through town with the flags of all nations in Woodstock, and show the world the pro-peace spirit that is the true legacy of the Woodstock Nation lives.

Peace and love!

Universal Peace Day and The Woodstock International Walk for World Peace

Today, August 6th, 2010, is the 65th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima, Japan.  “Little Boy” was the name of the fission bomb dropped on Hiroshima. The 30 year old pilot, Colonel Paul Tibbets, named his B-29 Superfortress the “Enola Gay” after his mother. The immediate death toll was approximately 70,000 men, women & children, who were instantly vaporized. Many others perished in the months and years that followed. August 6 has been internationally recognized as Universal Peace Day, though due to the International Date Line, it is often observed in the U.S. on August 5th.

Yesterday, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for the total elimination of nuclear weapons, and Nobel Prize-winning author and Hiroshima survivor Kenzaburo Oe wrote a moving article in The New York Times.

A photo from last year's walk. ©2009 Doug Potoksky

We ask all of you to join us this Sunday, August 8, 2010, for the Second Annual Woodstock International Walk for World Peace. We walk on the weekend closest to Universal Peace Day each year as a reminder to all that we wish to never again witness nuclear devastation, and to express our profound wishes for an end to all wars. If each of us is dedicated to a more peaceful world, we will have one.

We thank The Woodstock Chamber of Commerce & Arts, The Town of Woodstock, The World Peace Prayer Society, Pete Seeger, Victorio Roland Mousaa, Princess WOW!, Tony Angel, and all the other individuals who have given so generously their time and efforts to support our goals.

Now come on out Sunday morning for a great time!

Council meeting

We look forward to the Woodstock Council meeting this evening, Sunday, 1 August 2010, at 7:00 p.m. at Catskill Mountain Pizza. We have lots to do to get ready for the walk next weekend, and we look forward to seeing you there! All are welcome!

Peace on Earth

John McConnell's Earth Flag

We all have reason to celebrate this year and join the Woodstock Walk for Peace! Peace can be at hand if we all give a hand to help make peace. With our voices, our words, and our deeds, we can all help bring peace to our beautiful planet. Please join all of us on August 8, 2010 at 8am to once again Walk for Peace and participate in a World Peace Prayer and a day of music, art, and celebration for all of the Earth!

Hope to see all the smiling faces there again this year!

Peace, Love, and Kindness for you all,
Bill McKnight wm_media@yahoo.com

2nd Annual Woodstock Walk for Peace—Save the date!

Hello, everyone! After the wonderful walk we had last year, we feel that it’s once again time to hold a Woodstock Walk for Peace, to affirm our message of peace and love. All are welcome and invited to participate, and the date is tentatively set for August 8, 2010—once again, the Sunday nearest the anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, in 1945, sixty-five years ago.  Living peace icon, Pete Seeger, whose song, Where Have All the Flowers Gone, a spontaneous anthem of the annual tradition of the Woodstock Walk for Peace, has agreed to participate in this year’s event.  Pete will be giving an 8:00 a.m. interview for WDST, Woodstock radio from his home in Beacon and be with us from 10 a.m. to 11:30 before he performs at the Bearsville Theater at 1 (doors open at noon) with a benefit concert for Clearwater (cleaning up the Hudson River and environmental education and activism) and The Smile Revolution, a campaign to ignite the power of a smile to begin peace in one’s heart and radiate to those who are touched by this simple act. Following the concert, Pete will be signing his newly published book, “Where Have all the Flowers Gone”, an anthology of popular folk songs.  Pete wished to be at the first annual walk, last year, but had a previous concert commitment. Toshi Seeger, Pete’s life-time love and partner in marriage, comes from Woodstock originally, Pete is always glad to announce, as Woodstock is an extension of home for the Seeger family.

We are now beginning the process of seeking approvals from the Woodstock Chamber of Commerce and the town board—we will

Pete Seeger. ©2010 Cameron Williams

make announcements here, and expect to begin distributing flyers around town this week. With the enthusiasm generated from last year’s walk and the buzz around making it happen on a continuing basis, the grass roots organizing has now begun. Jack Nelson will participate, along with local talent for peace, social justice, music, and joy.

“May Peace Prevail on Earth” is our theme.  With the World Peace Prayer Society’s donation of the Peace Pole in the Village Green and the flag ceremony, a uniting pageantry of flags representing each nation and indigenous region of the world last year, we call upon the ideal of peace to end the unfortunate and continuing strife around the world, from Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, to Palestine, and more; our voices need to be heard more now than ever. Join with us in the spirit of peace and brotherhood, and let the world know that the spirit of peace lives in Woodstock, and around the world in sister cities of the Woodstock Nation.