2009 Overall Juror's Choice winner, Kyle Rafol of Waikoloa School (Courtesy photo)

MEDIA RELEASE

“Youth and Future” are powerful themes for this year’s Peace Day celebrations around the globe. Young people can focus on creating a more peaceful future, by entering the Peace Poster Contest, part of the 4th Annual Parade & Festival for the United Nations International Day of Peace, Sunday, Sept. 19 in Honokaa.

The contest is open to all youth, and winners will be announced noon-3 p.m. at the Festival in the County Sports Complex.

First, second and third place prizes of $50, $35 and $25 respectively, will be awarded in each grade category, K-3, 4-6, 7-9 and 10-12. The grand prize for “Best in Show” is $100 and a one-night stay for the winner and parents at the luxurious Waianuhea Bed & Breakfast in Ahualoa (minimum value $200).

“We are reaching out to all educators in Hawaii, on the mainland and around the world, to use this contest as an opportunity for student dialog,” said contest organizer Cindy Navarro-Bowman, who teaches at Honokaa High School. “The U.N. theme has inspired us to reflect on the role youth play in creating a peaceful future, and our hope is that kids everywhere will send their artwork to Hawaii for Peace Day.”

How to enter the Peace Poster Contest:
* Detailed information and required forms are available at www.PeaceDayParade.org
* Deadline for submission: 6 p.m., Friday, Sept. 10, 2010 and there is no entry fee.
* Posters submitted will be considered a donation to the Peace Committee and will not be returned.

Posters will be evaluated for Focus (as relates to the theme “YOUth: Creating a Peaceful Future”), Purpose, Layout and Design, Drawings, Mechanics, Creativity and Neatness. Previous Peace Poster Contests have inspired hundreds of entries, and it continues to grow bigger every year.

“The kids make it special,” said Parade & Festival Chairman Miles Okumura, also a teacher at Honokaa High School. “They are the ones who can make it happen on the world scale too, who may actually see peace in their lifetime. Our goal is to help inspire them, with the Peace Poster Contest, the Parade and music, the slam poets at the Festival — whatever it takes. We want our events to be the most recognized Peace Day happenings in Hawaii, with major participation from kids everywhere.”

The festivities begin with the Peace Day Parade, stepping off at 11 a.m. from Honokaa High School. A “moving stage” down Mamane Street, the parade features Taiko drum ensembles, High School marching bands, colorful “Prince Dance,” cirque performers from “Terminal Circus,” the Honokaa Jazz Band, rock & roll, hip hop, hula, bon dancers and much more.

The parade ends at noon at the County Sports Complex where the community Festival begins, with great local and ethnic foods, artists and crafters, more music and live entertainment onstage.

The Peace Committee is also recruiting food booths, vendors and community organizations to participate in the festival, as well as contributions to the silent auction and flatbed trucks and drivers for the parade. Plans are underway for the annual Mamane Street decorating contest for shops and restaurants, support programs for the Carteret Islands relocation project, and other events.

Last year’s festivities drew more than 2,000 participants and news coverage on all the major local television network stations. Plus, live streaming video linked the parade and festival with Peace Day concerts around the world for a potential 2 million viewers.

The United Nations has celebrated Peace Day annually since Sept. 21, 1982. A youth group, the United Federation of the Junior Young Buddhists Associations, successfully lobbied the state legislature in 2007 to establish a permanent Peace Day in the State of Hawaii.

On the Big Island, the 4th Annual “Peace Day” events are presented by the Peace Committee of the Honokaa Hongwanji Buddhist Temple in cooperation with the United Nations and numerous community organizations. Major financial support has been provided by the County of Hawaii Department of Research and Development (Tourism Division) and the Honpa Hongwanji Mission Buddhist Temples of Hawaii (Social Concerns Committee and Propagation Grant Committee).

Sunday’s Parade & Festival are free and open to the public. Deadline to enter the Peace Poster Contest is 6 p.m., Friday, Sept. 10. For more information call (808) 883-0669, email PeaceDayParade@gmail.com or visit www.peacedayparade.org