Bay Area ​​PEACE LANTERN CEREMONY
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  • Register To Attend
  • Support the Event
  • History
    • Lantern ceremonies
    • Bay Area Peace Lantern Ceremony
    • Nuclear arms information
    • Galleries >
      • Event photos
      • Lantern shades
  • Contact
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History of the Bay Area Peace Lantern Ceremony

In March 2002, the then-Vice Chair of the City of Berkeley Peace and Justice Commission, Steve Freedkin, was invited to Japan to speak at a peace conference. On the first day of his visit, he toured the Osaka Peace Museum, where he met Ms. Takako Iga, a survivor of the firebombing of Osaka during World War II. Ms. Iga explained to him that Osaka and most other Japanese cities were destroyed by incendiary bombs during the war. Steve asked Ms. Iga whether she attends a peace lantern ceremony every August. She said she used to, but her health does not always allow her nowadays.

​Deeply moved by her story, Steve promised he would attend such a ceremony each year on her behalf. With support from the Berkeley Peace and Justice Commission, the City Council and numerous community organizations and individuals, the first annual Bay Area Peace Lantern Ceremony was held at Aquatic Park on Aug. 9, 2002. More than 100 people participated that year; by 2006, the annual event had grown to more than 650, and in 2015, more than 2,000 people took part in the ceremony.

19th annual:  August 8, 2020 (details to be announced)


Volunteer

Setup 2–6:30 p.m.

Event 6:30–9 p.m.
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Takedown 9–10 p.m.

Contact

Click for the on-site form, or:

E-mail: info@peacelanterns.org
​
Voice mail: 510-595-4626

Support

The Bay Area Japanese Lantern Ceremony for World Peace is supported by local organizations and individual participants. Please help make this event possible:
Be an event co-sponsor ($50 and up) — we'll list you in our publicity. A $125 donation enables us to buy a table for shade decorating, labeled to show you as the table sponsor. 
Donate any amount — it helps!
  • ようこそ / Welcome
  • Register To Attend
  • Support the Event
  • History
    • Lantern ceremonies
    • Bay Area Peace Lantern Ceremony
    • Nuclear arms information
    • Galleries >
      • Event photos
      • Lantern shades
  • Contact