Event

“FROM HIROSHIMA TO HOPE”

LANTERNS LIGHT GREEN LAKE FOR HOPE AND PEACE

TUESDAY EVENING AUGUST 6, 2024

Seattle — Candle-lit lanterns will spark hope at From Hiroshima to Hope, Seattle’s annual lantern-floating peace ceremony, on Tuesday evening, August 6 at Green Lake. The event includes music, poetry, speakers and candle-lit lanterns floating on the lake. Marking the 79th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, From Hiroshima to Hope honors the bombings’ victims and all victims of war and violence. This year also marks the 82nd anniversary of Executive Order 9066, which led to the incarceration of Japanese Americans on the U.S. West Coast.

The event begins at 6:00 PM with lantern preparation. The family program gets underway at 7:00 PM with the popular Japanese American drum performance group, Seattle Kokon Taiko. Additional performers and participants will be announced this spring.

The candle-lit lantern ceremony begins at 8:00 p.m., with lanterns floating on the lake at dusk. From Hiroshima to Hope is one of the largest commemorations of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima on August 6 and Nagasaki on August 9 held outside of Japan. 

The event has been held every year since 1984, except for the cancellation in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with a shift to a film, “75 Years & Counting.” The event is created annually by the non-profit organization, From Hiroshima to Hope, and is sponsored by local community organizations, with grant support from The City of Seattle Office of Arts and Culture, and Seattle Parks and Recreation. It is held just south of the Bathhouse, on Green Lake’s northwest shore near West Green Lake Drive North and Stone Ave North, and is free and open to the public. For more information: call 206-928-2590 or visit https://fromhiroshimatohope.org or  https://www.facebook.com/FromHiroshimaToHope.

The public event is free. Donations are welcome, on-site, or in advance here.


2023 Sponsors: Abe Keller Peace Education Fund, Asian Counseling and Referral Service, Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, Buddhist Peace Fellowship, Earthcare Not Warfare, Ethnic Heritage Council, Fellowship of Reconciliation – Seattle Chapter; Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action, Hanford Challenge, Japanese American Citizens League – Seattle Chapter, Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Washington, Pax Christi Northwest, Plymouth Church Peace Action, Seattle Hiroshima Club, 350 Seattle, Veterans for Peace – Chapter 92; Washington Against Nuclear Weapons Coalition; Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility, Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience

Supporters: Dec. 13th Network for Poland, El Salvador & Disarmament, El Centro de la Raza, Nipponzan Miyohoji Temple, Seattle Betsuin Buddhist Temple, Seattle Betsuin Buddhist Women’s Association

In-Kind Donations: Marie Johnston, Greenlake Boat Rental, Greenwood Senior Center 

COVID safety protocols will be followed. Due to the number of attendees, including vulnerable populations, masks are encouraged for the safety and well-being of all.