Third Annual Greater Brunswick Peace Fair

Robert Shetterly speaks on his portraits of
Americans Who Tell the Truth

Poetry, art, dancing, singing, peace dolls,
portraits for peace, creating prayer flags
Conversation Cafe featuring Iraq War stories;
Election 20 0 8: What's a Peace Voter to Do?

The third annual Greater Brunswick Peace Fair, a participatory, interactive and visual event, will be held on the Brunswick mall on Saturday, August 4th from 10 A.M. to 4 P.M. The fair commemorates the beginning of the nuclear age ‹ to remind Mainers of the horror of nuclear war and of all wars, and the urgent task of creating a culture of peace.

Among the activities planned for children, adolescents and adults are poetry readings, art, dancing and singing for children, T¹ai Chi, creating peace dolls, portraits for peace, dances of universal peace, and creating prayer flags.

Maine artist Robert Shetterly, whose portrait exhibit, Americans Who Tell the Truth, is on display at the Curtis Memorial Library until August 4th, will speak at 1 pm.

The Conversation Café will feature Iraq War Stories, with Military Families Speak Out; Election 2008: What is a Peace Voter to Do?, with PeaceWorks; and Bread for the World with Ted Bradbury.

Participants include peace and justice organizations, spiritual communities and people active in the creative arts. Among the sponsoring organizations that will have information and interactive tables are the American Friends Service Committee, Amnesty International, Bread for the World, the Brunswick Friends Meeting, the Brunswick Park and Garden project, the Brunswick/Trinidad Sister City Association, the Brunswick Sustainability Group, Family Crisis Services, Greater Brunswick PeaceWorks, the Maine Campaign for a U.S. Department of Peace & Nonviolence, Maine UN Association, Maine Chapter Episcopal Peace Fellowship, Military Families Speak Out, Peace Action Maine, Physicians for Social Responsibility, Buddhist World Peace Organization, St. Charles Social Justice and Peace Commission, Social Justice Committee of the Unitarian Universalist Church, Veterans for Peace, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, and Working Villages International.

The Peace Fair seeks to offer information on the many ways to peace. Planners believe that peace is not a passive theory for the few, but rather the rigorous and energetic effort by everyone to initiate cooperation and non-violent communication in large and small conflicts. "If non-violence is what we value, then peace is what we'll build," says planner Rosalie Paul.

Planning member Christine DeTroy noted, "We welcome our community to gather, to learn and to create a vision for a non-violent sustainable future as we work toward a culture of peace." Lisa Love, a member of Circles of Peace, commented, "We hope people of all ages will join us to explore and identify practical ways of working toward change, whether by political or personal processes. We will explore ways to maintain a sense of peace and connectedness to others as we work toward change."

For further information, contact frieden@gwi.net.