Nanaimo’s 24th annual Lanterns for Peace Ceremony was held on the evening of Wednesday, August 6th at Swy-a-Lana Lagoon at Maffeo Sutton Park. The ceremony is to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the first use of the atomic bomb when the City of Hiroshima was reduced to ashes. The City of Nanaimo has declared August 6th Hiroshima Day in Nanaimo. This is in keeping with Nanaimo’s status as a nuclear-weapons free city and with past proclamations by the City.
This year, the evening began at 8:30 with peace songs led by community song leader, Sylvia Humble, followed by a ceremony at 9:00 with Mayor Leonard Krog reading the proclamation. The program includes song, the Vancouver Island Harp Ensemble and a few words from elected representatives and from the Central Vancouver Island Japanese Canadian Society.
35 lanterns were launched at 9:30pm (the lanterns are removed from the lagoon after the ceremony). The ceremony is organized each year by the Nanaimo chapter of WILPF.
