A history lesson and a family vacation sparked inspiration for this year’s Children’s Peace Festival, an initiative by a teen from Summit who aims to foster kindness, creativity, and cooperation within her community.
Anna Whitely, a rising senior at Summit High School, founded the Children’s Peace Festival in 2023 because of the unrest in Ukraine and the Middle East.
This year, the theme of the festival will be Hiroshima, inspired by her recent trip to Japan. This week marks the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and she wants to present the ideas of conflict resolution, peaceful cooperation, but also fun later this year.
This idea got started when Anna learned that in 1955 and 1956, the Chatham-Summit Quaker Meeting hosted two women known as the Hiroshima Maidens (Michiyo Zoman and Terue Takeda) who came to NYC for reconstructive surgery after the bombings. The effort was led by Saturday Review Editor Norman Cousins, and Summit Meeting (as it was known at the time) was one of several Quaker communities to provide care for the women. The women lived with several local families and eventually became part of the community. Years later, Summit Meeting families reunited with the women in Hiroshima.
“The kindness and compassion, on both sides, of this gesture toward former enemies,
both who suffered terribly during the war, is a model for our path forward,” Anna says.
That’s why when Anna’s family planned a trip to Japan earlier this summer, she was
determined to visit Hiroshima. This weekend’s festival will reflect on Hiroshima, including the Quaker meeting’s historic role in peacebuilding after the war.
There will be paper crane making, inspired by the young women who taught the Quakers about origami. Other activities include live music, storytelling, cooperative games, meditation, mindfulness activities, art stations, peace-building workshops, performances by the NY Youth Chorus and the Kent Place Hummingbirds, a peace flower garden, and a remembrance tied to Hiroshima’s legacy.
While visiting, look inside the meetinghouse for a hand-crafted wall hanging and a
ceramic plate bearing the Japanese character for “peace,” both gifts from the Hiroshima
Maidens.
“I wanted kids and parents to see that peace isn’t just something that happens far away
or something brought about at the hands of others—it’s something we build together,
right here, right now. It’s like planting seeds of peace for the future,” Anna says.
The Children’s Peace Festival will take place from 11 am to 4 pm on November 15 at the
Chatham-Summit Friends Meeting House, 158 Southern Blvd., Chatham. Admission is free, and all are welcome.
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