Festival for Peace
Click here for Festival for Peace Photo Exhibit

Our Festival for Peace ‘96 last year on May 19 in Reno’s beautiful Wingfield Park was our most ambitious and successful event this far. More than 350 young people from age groups K-16 performed their dances for peace, songs and skits for peace and read their own poetry. Listen to the words of a second grader whose poem drew tremendous applause from the audience:

Peace is contagious
The results are outrageous
You can help any time
Anything will be fine
Helping a neighbor
Would be a great favor
Giving to the poor
And so much more . . .
This is what I think peace is all about.

Featured during this six-hour non-stop program on a beautiful Sunday in the park were also some 90 posters and photographs depicting dreams of our young people to live with each other in harmony. Our goal was to plant the seeds of tolerance and peace consciousness into the heart of each child in this community. To this effect we worked "peace by peace" with concerned citizens and many local organizations. Among the more than 50 individual and group performances there were also several witty, imaginative, funny and powerful Peace Raps such as this one which was performed with clever gusto:

Peace is good
Violence is wrong
Help us now
Before too long.
If you silence the violence
And increase the peace
There will be freedom all over
To say the least.

Since there is violence
The world’s a disgrace
But if there was peace
It would be a better place.

With our Festival for Peace ‘96 we reached beyond the lofty academic halls of the University and achieved positive community youth involvement. One of the most rewarding results is the fact that quite a few Washoe County teachers either came to the Center or called us afterwards, saying that racial tensions significantly decreased as a result of their students’ having participated in the festival. The Festival for Peace ’96 was endorsed and supported by over 60 community organizations, businesses and concerned individuals.