Hundreds of people of all ages gathered at Copley Square on Saturday, July 16 for the Festival for a Nuclear-Free Future initiated by Massachusetts Peace Action and supported by peace, environmental, religious, and political action groups.
They reflected and cheered as Harvey Wasserman, Randy Kehler, Anna Baker, and Brian Corr delivered their powerful and informative messages.
They listened, danced and applauded as Public Interest, John Loretz and Martin Hunter, Rutsubo Taiko drummers, and the Japanese theater students’ group performed their moving and inspiring music and dance.
They saw off the monks, nuns and other walkers who are joining theWalk for a Nuclear-Free Future on their travels to the Plymouth, Seabrook and Vermont Yankee nuclear power plans, and points in between. (The Walk may come to your town soon!)
They signed American Friends Service Committee’s banner, which will be displayed at Hiroshima next month; played the Budget Game with Massachusetts Peace Action; and witnessed the solar collector displayed by Solar IS Civil Defense.
They folded origami peace cranes in honor of Sadako’s hope; their faces were painted with peace symbols by WILPF volunteers; and they visited the informative tables set up by Greenpeace, WAND, the Sierra Club, United for Justice with Peace, the Community Church of Boston, the Safe and Green Campaign, Green Decade, the First Church in Cambridge – Congregational, the Green-Rainbow Party, and the Democratic Socialists of America.
They admired the nuclear-free banners created by artists, the large globe showing the location of nuclear-free zones and nuclear facilites in the world, and the animal puppets who reminded festival-goers that animals, too, need a nuclear free world.
They wore Festival T-shirts, and read the Festival educational pamphlet. They connected with each other by sharing what they know and what they do.
They enjoyed each other’s company and celebrated our unity on a bright summer day, and as they did so, they knew that we are diverse, joyful and serious. They knew that we cannot rest until we have abolished nuclear power, built a renewable, sustainable future, and abolished nuclear weapons.
Participants will receive information from the sponsoring peace, environmental, religious, and political action organizations, and many will make our voices ever stronger by joining. Festival sponsors are listed at http://nukefreefest.org/content/sponsors.