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

2023 | August is Building A Culture of Peace Month

11th Annual Lantern Peace Festival

Saturday, August 5th @ Olympic Plaza | 5:30pm-9:00pm

SCHEDULE

5:30-7:30 Kid’s Zone Open

6:30-8:00 Speakers and Performers on Main Stage

8:00-9:00 Lantern Launch

Lantern rental

1 for $5

3 for $10

Preorder

On Our Stage

Madhuban Performing Arts
Lantern Peace Festival presents the quintessence of Indian music performing group, Madhuban Performing Arts. Their performance resonates and echoes the spirit of Mahatma Gandhi, spirit of non-violence and harmony and peace of all humanity.

Inspirational Speaker and Performer: Wendy Walker
Wendy is a reknowned indigenous singer-song writer who dedicates herself to creating harmony among our diverse society and to upholding human rights and social justice.
Wendy will also share her poignant song that lets us determine to have our society just and harmonious.

On Our Venue

NEW Kid’s Zone

Starts from 5:30 pm at the south side of the pool and ends at 7:30 pm.

Storytime with Wendy Walker

Butterfield Acres MINI Farm

Paper Crane Origami

Bouncy Castle

Face Painting

& More!

Our hope for building a culture of peace is expressed by children’s laughter and big smiles!

Children can play around at KID’S ZONE that has a petting zoo, bouncing castle, storytelling by Wendy Walker, a renowned indigenous singer-song writer, and much more!

On Our Pool

Spend your time of serenity looking out colorful lanterns floating on the pool

Lanterns carry on your wishes for happiness and peace for yourself, your family, and our world.

For a donation, we will provide you a lantern to launch; $5 for one lantern, $10 for three lanterns.

Write your hopes and wishes on the lantern shade (pen provided) and launch the lantern wishing your dream coming true!

Lantern launching time starts from 8 pm and ends 9 pm

Commemorating the Building A Culture of Peace Month

Our Concurrent Events

Building A Culture of Peace Exhibition (Free)

August 8 (Tu) to 25 (F) at the Calgary Public Central Library

Online Peace Film Festival (Free)

This is an annual screening opportunity to watch four films relating to peace, which are otherwise hard to access.

To get the links for the film(s), please email us at floatinglanternpeace@gmail.com with the film-title(s) you want to watch.

A total number of the access-link is limited in each film. It will be “first come, first serve.”

Date/Time Name of the film Screening types

August 4 (F) – 6 (Su) The Vow from Hiroshima 3 days streaming#

August 11 (F) – 13 (Su) Blowback: The 9/11 Wars in Global Film 3 days streaming#

August 17 (Th) 7 pm A Force More Powerful* (Onetime screening with post screening discussion)

August 25 (F) -27 (Su) Bombies – Cluster Bombs in Laos 3 days streaming#

# 3 days streaming: Starting from Fridays 12 pm (noon) to Mondays 11:59 am (MDT)

THE VOW FROM HIROSHIMA is an intimate portrait of Setsuko Thurlow, a passionate, 85-year-old survivor of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima, who has been tirelessly working to actualize the world free from nuclear weapons. (82 mins)

Blowback – The 9/11 Wars in Global Film: Using films about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan as examples, BLOWBACK explores how movies shape our understanding of the wars that are fought in our name. (30 mins)

A Force More Powerful*: A documentary series on one of the 20th century’s most important and least-known stories: how nonviolent power overcame oppression and authoritarian rule in India, in the US, and South Africa. (77 mins)

* Joint program with the Humainologie Dialogue Group

Bombies – Cluster Bombs in Laos – examines the problem of unexploded cluster bombs through the personal experiences of a group of Laotians and foreigners and argues for their elimination as a weapon of war. Unfortunately they are still a standard part of the US arsenal and were dropped in Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq, and now Ukraine.

We Honor Hiroshima and Nagasaki Days

August 6 and 9 are the dates when we honor those who impacted the atomic bombs.

We can create a solidarity never to have such atorocity to our future generations in the world.

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.

2nd Annual Peace Film Fest

Featured Films:

The War You Don’t See

A powerful new film by John Pilger, is a timely investigation into the media’s role in war. The film traces the history of “embedded” and independent reporting — from the carnage of World War I to the destruction of Hiroshima, and from the invasion of Vietnam to the current war in Afghanistan. The very nature of war has developed into an “electronic battlefield”, as weapons and propaganda are ever more sophisticated. But, who is the real enemy today?

BLIND TRUST: Leaders & Followers in Times of Crisis

This film celebrates the life and work of Nobel Peace Prize nominee Vamik Volkan, a psychiatrist who brings enemy groups together for dialogue in traumatized areas of the globe. This film celebrates the life and work of psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Dr. Vamik Volkan, a five-time Nobel Peace Prize nominee who has spent over four decades bringing enemy groups together in areas of conflict all over the world. This look into his pioneering fieldwork and peace-building missions in Europe, the Middle East, and the US sheds light on how large-group identity and shared trauma can both unite us and divide us for generations.

Disturbing The Peace

A story of the human potential unleashed when we stop participating in a story that no longer serves us and, with the power of our convictions, take action to create new possibilities. This film follows former enemy combatants — Israeli soldiers from elite units and Palestinian fighters, many of whom served years in prison — who have joined together to challenge the status quo and say “enough.” The film reveals their transformational journeys from soldiers committed to armed battle to nonviolent peace activists, leading to the creation of Combatants for Peace.

What Our Father’s Did: A Nazi Legacy

A bracingly rigorous examination of inherited guilt and pain, WHAT OUR FATHERS DID explores the relationship between two men, each of whom are the children of very high-ranking Nazi officials but possess starkly contrasting attitudes toward their fathers.

The film was written and is hosted by eminent human rights lawyer Philippe Sands, who became fascinated by its central figures, Niklas Frank and Horst von Wächter, while researching the Nuremberg trials.

The film comes to a climax when they travel to Lviv in Ukraine, where it becomes clear that Frank and von Wächter’s Nazi fathers were responsible for the annihilation of Sands’ own Jewish grandfather’s entire family. WHAT OUR FATHERS DID is a compelling examination of brutality, self-deception, guilt and the nature of justice.

“This is both an intensely personal story for me as well as one with contemporary and universal relevance as anti-Semitism spreads across Europe and the wounds created in Ukraine during WWII can still be felt today.” Philippe Sands

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