It was a very busy day in Seattle today. Our first of six ceremonies was at the Smilow Boys and Girls Club at Ranier Vista in Seattle.
The children were excited and enthusiastic about our program.
Some children were in great form for our song activity.
Finding peace and harmony in the heart as well as other qualities that the children suggested was a very fulfilling experience.
Our skits always invoke such great responses.
The children get to judge whether the behaviour they see is good and peaceful or not.
Most of the children enjoy it immensely.
The Torch-Bearer Award was given to a very special gentleman.
Bill Burton is a former staff member and Executive-Director of this Boys and Girls Club for many years. Decades ago he helped to get a new facility built for the children. He has spent most of his life helping the children in this neighborhood.
A testament to Bill Burton and his untiring work for the children.
Bill is a humble man of few words but with great wisdom and action demonstrated over many decades.
We are so grateful to the Boys and Girls Club for having us here.
The children get a chance to hold the torch and make wishes for peace.
We are so grateful to Heidi-Henderson Lewis and Denise Lewis for organizing this event for us.
The children made a large poster for us and they all signed it for us with special messages for peace.
Bill Burton and his wife Ruthie happily hold the torch among all the children and peace runners.
Our next ceremony was at the Renton Skyway Boys and Girls Club.
We made our presentation in a small room where the children were quite attentive and interested.
They were quite serious when it came to feeling peace in the heart.
We are so grateful to Rupasi for organizing this along with some of the other events today.
Brahmata, our Canadian representative, offers her hint to having the children guess her country.
We finally went outside to the track and the children had a great time carrying the torch.
Daughter and Mother run for peace.
Dorina McHenry, Director of the Boys and Girls Club, accepts our Certificate of Appreciation from our local coordinator, Rupasi Young.
Dorina happily leads the children on a Peace Walk back from the track.
Todd and Graciela from the Renton School District Nutrition Program bring free lunches to the children of the Renton Skyway Boys and Girls Club. This kind of important community service is an essential element in helping to establish peace in the community.
Rupasi introduces our team at the next ceremony in Redmond Elementary School for the Boys and Girls Club there.
It was a small group of children but they were very attentive and interested in our peace program.
Brahmata from Canada offers the children a song through a cardboard tube.
Bigalita, originally from Austria, has the children guess which musical country she is from.
Ariuka from Mongolia offers the children many hints to guess her country.
Dramatic skits demonstrating harmony or not.
A helping hand is always encouraged when someone falls while running.
A Certificate of Appreciation is offered to State Representative Derek Stanford from the Bothell District. Nayak Polissar, one of our local Coordinators, is proud and happy that his good friend Derek could come to this event today and be honored by the children as well. Derek has worked hard for his district and is running for office again. We wish him success in his endeavors to serve his community.
Now the fun begins. Nayak and Arpan prepare the children to carry the torch carefully as they run for peace in the playground.
Nayak is the engine of this peace train!
Rupasi makes sure the children hold the torch properly as they run.
The two-handed method is sometimes the safest way for children to carry the flaming torch of peace.
A moment of serious comtemplation.
A proud torch bearer.
A happy bunch of children and adults posing for Peace in the playground.
Meanwhile, another team of runners runs into a meeting with the South Park Boys and Girls Club organised by Daulot.
Natabara introduces the run to the curious children.
Natabara and Daulot present the Certificate of Appreciation and a beautiful artwork by Sri Chinmoy called 'World Family'.
Participating our our song.
The children get a chance to pass the lit torch outside and make wishes for peace and harmony.
The torch bearer leads the way as other children follow waiting for their turn to carry this inspiring symbol of peace.
Everybody had a chance to run with the torch.
Eldar from Russia shares a nice moment with the children.
Our final event of the day was at the Ballard Boys and Girls Club.
Brahmata makes an introduction.
Ariuka from Mongolia introduces herself.
Finding peace in the heart is one of our most powerful exercises with the children.
Passing the torch around can also be quite powerful for everyone.
A happy group of peace-lovers. We are grateful to Director Shelley Puariea(holding torch) for arranging this inspiring ceremony for us. The 'Challengers' is a group of children at this club who challenge themselves to accomplish very worthy goals during the year.
Afterwards our group of local Seattle runners came together with some of our 'core' runners for a oneness-photo. We are very grateful for their participation and support.
Some of us had the opportunity to visit the pristine laundromat of Stota and Daulot, called 'Transformation-Surprise'.
All the machines are shiny and relatively new.
Our final group stop of the evening was at the Sri Chinmoy Statue by Lake Union and the popular Burke Gilman Trail in Fremont. It was dedicated on November 7, 2010 as a peace monument dedicated to the tireless work for peace by Sri Chinmoy, Founder of the Peace Run. This year celebrates 50 years since he first came to the West to serve the peace-loving world.
The whole Peace Run team including many Seattle locals who have contributed so much to these events gather next to the Statue. The surrounding area of spectacular beauty makes for a perfect setting for this wonderul peace monument.
We offer our heartfelt thanks to Boijayanti and Palash who offered weeks of their time to the Peace Run and helped us to make it all the way up the Pacific Coast.
Palash accepts our humble and grateful offering before they leave along with our men's team member, Sarvodaya.
Most of the men's team had dinner at the home of Scott, one of our runners from the first weeks of the Peace Run. We had an evening of relaxation and games as well.
Much thanks to Scott and his dad who is visiting from the Leavenworth area.
Our final goodbyes and gratitude to Sarvodaya (left). He was with us from the beginning in April and offered invaluable service to the team, including his exquisite culinary skills which will be sorely missed.
Dan Watts, a local Seattlite, celebrated his birthday today. We are extremely grateful to Dan and all the locals who offered us their homes and many delicious meals.
