Events – Calgary Floating Lanterns For Peace

13th Annual Lantern Peace Festival – Saturday, August 9th, 2025

Stay tuned for details!

12th Annual Lantern Peace Festival & BCP Exhibit – Aug 3, 2024 (2pm – 4pm)

Peace is created by people with culture and art!

Enjoy the free family event and see Midnight Taiko, Wendy Walker and many other performers of multicultural traditions, as well as speakers from diverse backgrounds. Vendors of Face painting, henna hand painting, and Cos-play (costume-play) will be there! Also, first 15 children can participate in the art activities, Art! Dream! and Kids! with free art materials and everyone receives the participating prize! Come to join us!

Film & Dialogue

Join us to watch the film, “The Vow from Hiroshima,” then to have a dialogue with Mrs. Setsuko Thurlow, O.C., a hibakusha struggling to create a world free from nuclear weapons.

An atomic bomb survivor, anti-nuclear activist, member of the Order of Canada. Read more about Mrs. Setsuko Thurlow, O.C. here and don’t miss this chance to hear her speak after the film.

The Vow From Hiroshima is an intimate portrait of Setsuko Thurlow, a passionate survivor of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima. She was 13 years old when the atomic bomb was dropped (in Hiroshima) in 1945. Her moving story is told through the lens of her growing friendship with a second-generation survivor, Mitchie Takeuchi. Setsuko was miraculously pulled out of a fiery building after the bomb was dropped and unable to save her other 27 classmates who were burned to death alive. That experience shaped her life forever and she endeavored to keep a pledge she made to her friends – that no one should ever again experience the same horrible fate.

The film follows Setsuko through her decades of activism up to the current moment when she finally achieves her dream of a Nuclear Weapons Ban Treaty.

Organized by Calgary Floating Lanterns for Peace as a Post Peace Film Festival

In partnership with Ploughshares Calgary Society and Humainologie Dialogue Group

Sponsors: The City of Calgary and The United Nations Association of Canada – Calgary

If you are not able to watch the film because of a schedule conflict but wish to watch it, please let us know at floatinglanternpeace@gmail.com

2022 | Building A Culture of Peace MONTH

10th Annual Floating Lantern Peace Ceremony on Saturday, August 6, 2022 @ Olympic Plaza

Building A Culture of Peace Events

Building A Culture of Peace Exhibit

Ukraine and the Rising Threat of Nuclear Weapons

Our 2nd Annual Peace Film Fest

We are excited to present the Building A Culture of Peace Exhibit at the Central Library, starting July 9 and running through to August 7. With this exhibit begins the Building a Culture of Peace Month.

We are proud to present a film screening of “The Vow from Hiroshima” which traces the life of Hibakusha, Setsuko Thurlow, from her childhood in Hiroshima, the grim moment of the atomic bomb explosion and its aftermath, then her selfless activities for abolishing nuclear weapons. This is a rare opportunity for us in the Calgary community to watch this film.

This film screening is followed by a keynote speaker: Cesar Jaramillo (Executive Director of Project Ploughshares and Chair of the Canadian Pugwash Group) who will share his insight into the current East European situation relating to Ukraine and Russia, in particular its increasing threat of nuclear weapons use. (Online participation from Ottawa.)

Join us for FOUR informative and inspiring movies! One movie will be streamed each weekend for 72 hours, beginning July 15th. Movies are FREE to watch with your entry of “1000 Voices”.

Email floatinglanternpeace@gmail.com with 100 words or less on how you build peace in your life and receive the links for all 4 movies to watch at your convenience.

Building A Culture of Peace Month was brought to by our amazing partners & sponsors:

Calgary Central Library

The City of Calgary

Calgary Downtown Association

United Nations Association of Canada – Calgary Branch

Ploughshares Calgary Society

Humanologie

Leading Edge Art Workshops

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN TO SEE OUR PROGRAMS AND PHOTOS FROM OUR PREVIOUS EVENTS.

2021 | Peace Memorial Weekend, August 6 – 8

The 9th Annual Calgary Floating Lantern Peace Ceremony hopes to return to Olympic Plaza once again to stand together for peace and enjoy the serene beauty of the lanterns on the water. In case we are not able to gather we will LIVESTREAM the launching of the lanterns via Facebook. In both cases, please join us online for the virtual portion of our weekend program and Film Fundraiser.

VIRTUAL Peace Film Fest

3 Award Winning Movies available for streaming for 72 hours with a $25 donation.

Floating Lanterns Peace Ceremony

Saturday, August 7 – LIVE at Olympic Plaza _{(pending restrictions lifting)} & FB Livestream

A High Schooler’s Quest For Peace

New interviews will be released on our website.

2020 | Peace Memorial Week, August 1 – 8

The 8th Annual Calgary Floating Peace Ceremony like you’ve never seen it before! Our Peace Memorial Week kicked off with the Peace Forum, followed by special guests with their Messages For Peace throughout the week, then finished with a livestream showcasing the launch of the beautiful lanterns in memory of those we lost.

Click here to view our 2020 online event!

PEACE FORUM

“Seeking a Culture of Peace in the Age of Pandemic and Strife”

Introduction

Anna Pena Egle, Co-chair, Calgary Floating Lanterns

Moderator

Greg MacGillivray

Panelists:

Arthur Clark M.D.

Paul Sherman, Ph. D.

Jose Tenga, M.A.

Ms. Stella Constance

Ghada Alatrash Ph. D.

MESSAGES FOR PEACE

A High Schooler’s Quest For Peace

with Dai, next generation peacemaker

Interviews with:

Mr. Kobayashi, Consul-General of Japan in Calgary

Dr. Trudy Govier, President of Ploughshares Calgary Society

Dr. Arthur Clark, A Founding Father of Calgary Peace Movements

VIDEOS TO INSPIRE

Dr. Ghada Alatrash

Setsuko Thurlow

MELODIES FOR PEACE

Vocal Artist: Leila Keith

Violinist: Misako

MULTICULTURAL PERFORMANCE

The Matsuzaka Family

Livestream Lantern Launch

2019 | Saturday, August 3rd

MC

Nirmala Naidou

Keynote Speakers

Very Reverend Bill Phipps

Spoken Word

Dr. Ghada Alatrash (Syrian Poet)

Youth speakers

Richard Lam – Sokka Gakai Int’l (an international Buddhist Group)

Anush Margaryan – United Nations Association/Calgary Branch;

Child Diplomat Project

Gen – read letter from Mayor of Hiroshima

Mai – read letter from Mayor of Nagasaki

Choirs

Calgary Women’s chorus conducted by Cory Obst

Japanese Children’s Choir

Sound Engineer

Carlos Kanga

2018 | Saturday, August 4th

MC

Danielle French

Keynote Speakers

Honourable Douglas Roche (Officer of the Order of Canada, former Canadian Senator, Ambassador for Disarmament)

Bev Delong Chair, Canadian Network to Abolish Weapons – Introduction of Hon Doug Roche

Choirs

Mt Royal’s Artio Choir, Dir. Jean-louis Bleau

Japanese Children’s Choir

Muslim Girls Choir – Director Sara Behairy

Guitarist/Singer

Benjamin Tremblay

2017 | Saturday, August 5th

MC

Michael Gretton (Former Pres UNAC)

Keynote Speakers

Rabbi Shaul Osadchey (Beth Tzedec Synagogue)

Rev Debra Faulk (The Unitarian Church of Calgary), representing the Calgary Interfaith Council, won the first prize for the UN’s World Interfaith Harmony Week, 2017