Four events in the area to note – please scroll for details.
1) Kingston to Host 15th Annual Bon-Odori Dance Day for Peace Commemorating Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and Nuclear Disaster Victims
On Sunday, August 3, 2025, from 12:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.,
Kingston Point Beach will once again come alive with dance, music, remembrance, and activism as the city hosts the 15th Annual Bon-Odori Dance Day for Peace. The free event honors the victims of nuclear disasters on the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and marks other significant anniversaries, including the 15th year since the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear meltdown and the 39th since the Chernobyl disaster.
Founded in 2011 by Kingston residents Youko Yamamoto, a designer and chef, and Kazuma Oshita, a metal sculptor, Bon-Odori Dance Day for Peace brings together the community to support a global, multicultural effort toward a nuclear-free future. This year’s theme underscores the urgent need to reduce radioactive waste and heat pollution from nuclear power generation.
Should there be extreme heat or rain, the event will be held at the Andy Murphy Midtown Center at 467 Broadway, Kingston.
What is Bon-Odori?
The event is rooted in the Japanese summer tradition of Bon-odori, a folk dance held during Obon, when families honor the spirits of their ancestors. Communities across Japan gather to dance around a raised platform called a *yagura*, accompanied by live music and taiko drums. The dance is simple and inclusive, making it a joyful collective ritual of remembrance and connection.
2025 Program Highlights
This year’s program begins at the “Japan Stop” information booth and features a wide range of local performers, including:
- The Vanaver Caravan
- DrumSong Orchestra
- Uptown Lodown
- The Spirit of Thunderheart
Special guest speaker Tinya Seeger will share stories about her parents, Pete and Toshi Seeger. A memorial for Bill Vanaver, the late founder of the Vanaver Caravan, will follow.
Nuclear disarmament activists Dr. Diane Swords and Dr. Larry Wittner of Peace Action New York State and Back From The Brink will speak on ending the Nuclear Age. Additional performances include sumi ink brush art by Barbara Bash and Youko Yamamoto, an aikido demonstration by Kingston Aikido, and peace songs by Stephen Johnson with Nu Bossa** and Robert Albrecht with Free Range.
Family favorites like Suikawari (the Japanese game of busting a watermelon) will be back, along with Taiko drumming by Stuart Paton of Burlington Taiko and Bon-Odori dance led by Kevin Suzuki and Minbuza, the dance company of the Japanese Folk Dance Institute of New York.
Peace, Culture, and Sustainability
The venue will be divided into three areas—pavilion, grass field, and beach—featuring performances, workshops, and booths promoting sustainable practices, wellness, peace, and international culture. Vendors include the Climate Smart Tiffin Project, Mohonk Consultations, Jorei by Shumei, Peace Education Center, Veterans for Peace, Hudson Valley Peace Park, and others. A raffle will feature gift donations from local businesses such as Adams Fairacres Farms, Bluecashew, Tanma Ramen, and Rough Draft.
Closing Ceremony
The evening will close with a Heart Sutra chant led by **Youko Yamamoto** and **Yuzan Toyoda**, a Jodo-shinshu Buddhist monk, followed by a spiral walk for peace led by internationally renowned Buddhist nun **Jun-san Yasuda**, carrying the Flame of Hiroshima brought from Quebec.
A Call to Action
As the war in Ukraine continues and global nuclear tensions rise, the event calls on communities to take action. With nearly 10,000 nuclear warheads worldwide and 440 nuclear reactors generating radioactive waste and heat, organizers stress the urgent need to abolish nuclear weapons and transition to nonviolent, sustainable energy.
This year’s Bon-Odori Dance Day for Peace is made possible with the support of the City of Kingston and the Radio Kingston Community Tech Team.
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2) Reading of John Hersey’s “Hiroshima”
Saturday, August 6, 11:00AM
Townsend Park, Albany, NY
(Henry Johnson Blvd. & Central Ave.)
(Hiroshima, Japan, 1945)
The event is free and open to the public and the public is encouraged to join in the reading. Those interested in reading can sign up to participate when they arrive. Please bring folding chairs. Rain site: Social Justice Center.
On August 6, 1945 the United States of America used the atomic bomb for the first time to destroy the city of Hiroshima, Japan; on August 9, the U.S. used the atomic bomb again on Nagasaki, Japan. Over 200,000 people died immediately in the two bombings and over a hundred thousand more died in the following decades as a result of the effects of the radiation.
Hiroshima by John Hersey tells the story of the bombing on August 6, 1945 by following the story of six of the survivors. The book version has been in print since 1946.
Co-sponsored by the Poetry Motel Foundation, Tom Paine Chapter Veterans for Peace, Upper Hudson Peace Action. For more information contact Dan Wilcox, 518-482-0262, dwlcx46@gmail.com
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3) Upper Hudson Peace Action Alert
Commemorating 80 Years Since Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan
Date: August 9, 2025
Time: 11 AM
Place: Lions Park at 3439 Rosendale Road, Niskayuna, NY
Sponsored by: Upper Hudson Peace Action & Women Against War
Please join us in commemorating the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the only time such weapons have been used. Today’s volatile world calls us to note the terrible scale and repercussions of these events and advocate for the abolition of nuclear weapons.
We will gather at 11 am at Lions Park, Rosendale Rd., Niskayuna, probably near the old railroad station and small memory garden, which are not far from the entrance. The Mohawk River runs parallel to the park.
The program is intended to be concise, focused, and serious, beginning with short remarks about the event and anniversary, and including brief poetry and music.
Next, a short silent walk on the bike path with our themed props and signs will take place. If there is a large group, we may need to break into sections, so that others using the bike path can get around us. Some people may opt to forgo the walk and sit with signs, etc. by the park entrance where there are picnic tables, or by the gazebo.
Further details:
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The park has a small Little Blue Library exchange, so it’s a great opportunity to leave books on a peace theme there.
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We need to carefully follow the bike path rules, such as keeping to the right and not stopping and standing still on the bike path.
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Please try to dress in white, the Japanese color of mourning
On August 6, 1945, during World War II (1939-45), an American B-29 bomber dropped the world’s first deployed atomic bomb over the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The explosion immediately killed an estimated 80,000 people; tens of thousands more would later die of radiation exposure. Three days later, a second B-29 dropped another A-bomb on Nagasaki, killing an estimated 40,000 people. Japan’s Emperor Hirohito announced his country’s unconditional surrender in World War II in a radio address on August 15, citing the devastating power of “a new and most cruel bomb.” https://www.history.com/articles/bombing-of-hiroshima-and-nagasaki
Na Mu Myo Ho Ren Ge Kyo
The peace walk will take place August 3-9, 2025.
The program at the Peace Pagoda is August 9.
(see details below)
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