Peace Cranes Take Flight on August 10 at Rockefeller Park Lagoon

Cleveland Peace Action will remember the those who died in the 1945 atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and promote peaceful resolution of conflict in an event “Peace Cranes Take Flight,” at the Rockefeller Park Lagoon in the Rockefeller Park Cultural Gardens on Sunday, August 10, 7 pm to dark.

The event features the acclaimed musicians and artists Icho Daiko, Northeast Ohio’s Japanese taiko drumming group; spoken word artist E&JNtoxicated; and Jocelyn Chang, Harp, and Michael Leese, Flute.

The audience can participate in Buddhist dances of peace, led by the Buddhist Peace Fellowship’s Cleveland Chapter; folding origami peace cranes, which will be sent to Iraq as a gesture of peace and goodwill; and making Japanese-style lanterns.

Cleveland peace activist Yoshiko Ikuta, who lived through WWII in Japan will speak, and Zen priest Dean Williams from Jijuyu-ji Zen Group of Cleveland, will lead traditional Buddhist chants as participants float their lanterns on the pond at dusk in memory of those who have died.

About the performers:

Icho Daiko, sponsored by the Cleveland Chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League, draws its members from the Cleveland, Akron, and Oberlin College communities. The group builds its own drums, and plays at cultural and social events, including the Cleveland Cavaliers half-time show, the Asian Festival in Columbus, and the International Folk Festival at Lakeland Community College. Their goal is to strengthen Asian American communities by instilling pride and cultural awareness and to build bridges between Asian Americans and other groups through the dynamic cultural expression of taiko.

E&JNtoxicated, aka Edwin Moses Jackson, is a gifted spoken word artist who brings messages of peace and justice (instead of the usual violence) into mainstream “ghetto” music. He is a political/community activist, poet, singer-songwriter, business owner, mentor with Big Brothers Big Sisters, and loving husband. He and his band have released three albums, Ghetto Wisdom, the Welfare Poet, and My Animal Self.

Jocelyn Chang, Harp, and Michael Leese, Flute will create an original composition, “Flight of the Peace Cranes” for this event. Jocelyn Chang is a founding member of the Cleveland Chamber Symphony. Composer Michael Leese recently premiered his composition “In Memoriam: For the Victims of War” with the Grammy Award winning Cleveland Chamber Symphony. The duo gives more than 100 performances a year. They have played at many peace and justice events, including the Brigid Peace Festival and the Vigil for Peace—Masumi Hayashi/John Jackson memorial.

Contact: Elizzabeth Schiros, Volunteer Coordinator, 216-231-4245, volunteer@peaceactioncleveland.org