31st Annual Lantern Ceremony Honors Victims of Violence
Green Lake sparkles and soothes during the annual lantern ceremony
By Sheila Cain July 15, 2015
This article originally appeared in the August 2015 issue of Seattle magazine.
The cool calm of Green Lake has always attracted Seattleites looking to take a break from the headaches of city living, and a deeper serenity comes to the tranquil basin this month with “From Hiroshima to Hope.” The 31st annual lantern-lighting ceremony commemorates those killed by atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki 70 years ago this month, as well as other victims of violence across the globe.
With a nod to Tōrō nagashi, a Buddhist lantern ceremony honoring the dead, participants decorate paper-wrapped, wood-frame lanterns and send the glowing creations out into the waters along with thoughts of peace. Open to the public, the event provides an opportunity for Lycra-clad exercisers to slow down and partake in silent reflection, listen to musical groups and meet Japanese calligraphers from the Beikoku Shodo Kenkyukai calligraphy society, who will be on hand to help adorn the beacons of light.
August 6, 6 p.m.; lanterns floated at 8:30 p.m. Free and open to the public. Near Seattle Public Theater at the Bathhouse, 7312 West Green Lake Drive N; fromhiroshimatohope.org.
Follow Us
Photo Essay: Ferry Therapy
Words and photographs by Anna Starr.
Riding the ferry is my favorite Seattle pastime. At any given time on a Washington State Ferry you will find a group of tourists with too many suitcases, someone in work clothes peacefully napping, a jigsaw puzzle diligently being completed, lovers having a Titanic-esque moment on a balcony (fun fact: those balconies are called pickleforks),…
AANHPI Month: Where to Celebrate, Eat, and Learn Around Seattle
From festivals and museum exhibits to food tours and historic neighborhoods, here are a few ways to mark the month across the region.
Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month—known as AANHPI Month—is observed in the U.S. each May. It began as a weeklong observance in 1978 and expanded to the full month in 1992. Asian, Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities in the United States extend back much further, including to the late 16th century, when…
Black Panther Park in Skyway Becomes First Black Panther Park in the World
The new community garden honors the Black Panther Party’s legacy of food justice and the Skyway neighbors who helped bring it to life.
On a sunny Sunday earlier this month, at the corner of 75th Avenue and Renton Avenue South, the community gathered for the opening of Skyway’s Black Panther Park. Inspired by the Black Panther’s Free Breakfast for School Children program that compelled the federal government to provide breakfast in schools, Black Panther Park is a community…
Rearview Mirror: A Family Coming Apart, SIFF, and My First Fashion Show
Things I did, saw, ate, learned, or read in the past week (or so).
The Family House A house can hold a lot, and Seattle Rep’s Appropriate knows that. Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ Tony-winning play, directed here by Timothy McCuen Piggee, drops the Lafayette siblings into their late father’s hoarded, falling-apart Arkansas plantation home for an estate sale, and lets the whole thing crack open from there. The sibling dynamics are…