By Alex Paramo

“Imagine all the people living life in peace…You may say I am a dreamer but I am not the only one, I hope someday you will join us and the world will live as one” – John Lennon

International Day of Peace at the UN (video below)

The words of this John Lennon song, Imagine (originally released in 1971), still resonate today. Unfortunately we still have wars scarring our planet at each corner. There is still violence being enacted upon folks on every continent and in every country. We also are subject to economic violence in the form of the growing popularity of wage slavery among corporate strategists. Every year, on September 21, since 1984, the world is called upon to take a moment to consider peace: International Peace Day/World Peace Day.

“Imagine all the people sharing the all the world…”

Peace at the Rail Yards Market

At the Rail Yards Market (RYM) we celebrate peace by creating a space where folks from all walks of life within our community, (local merchants, artists, entertainers, vendors, craftsmen, growers, volunteers, organizers…) can occupy for a few hours and feel a kinship among each other. We will be having our own private and public moments to celebrate and promote peace. We hope you join us:

Sustainability Zone welcomes Southwest University of Visual Arts (SUVA) Educators and students, featuring Alyssa Metoyer, with demonstrations of environmentally sound and Sustainable Interior Design.

Live Arts Zone will be showing the highly accomplished Encaustic mixed media work of local artist Tricia Simmons. She helps us celebrate peace with her nature-inspired using materials – such as flowers, pods, leaves, twigs, weeds and grasses- found all over the country. Some of them are painted with a fine silver paste that is kiln fired at 1650 degrees for two hours after which the natural material burns away. What is left is .999% fine silver. In her encaustic mixed media pieces, she uses natural material as well as paper, metal, found objects, oil paint, and encaustic cast figures with encaustic medium and paint.

This Week in the POP-Up Gallery will feature a group exhibit by Off Center Studios. OFFCenter Community Arts Project is a 501 (c) 3 non-profit arts organization which believes art-making is central to community building. Their mission is to promote positive self identity and resilience through art making by providing a safe environment for creative social interaction with an emphasis to enhance the lives of those most marginalized in our community.

The Children’s Zone brings us the Duke City Repertory Theatre, which is a non-profit professional theatre company that performs in the heart of Downtown Albuquerque. On September 21st, children at the RYM will have an opportunity to work with all of these teachers in a fun and engaging environment. Activities will include physical and group games that develop into acting-centered exercises. All of these activities build and hone the skills of bravery, imagination, teamwork, confidence, and creative problem solving. From jump-rope, frisbee, and playground exercises, games progress to some of DCRT’s favorite activities including “Ninja Foot Tag,” “Bippity Bippity Bop,” and “Machines.”

On the Community Stage we will be featuring our usual wonderful assortment of Movement, Meditation and Mindfulness. One of Albuquerque’s most popular bands, The Temporary Tattoos delight fans of all ages and will be playing at 11am on the main stage. Come check them out and bring your dancing shoes! The Lymbs, will be playing a rare acoustic set on the Main Stage at 1:00 pm this Sunday. Unplugged and undeniably talented! For complete schedule please click here.

Bringing about Peace

To bring about peace we must first find it in our hearts to care. Care, not only for the well-being of our family, friends and neighbors but also for the people you disagree with. We must have compassion for and empathy toward the people around the world that we can’t see but we know are suffering, toward the people in our community who have to worry about food & shelter. On Sunday we invite you to take a moment and feel the peace that resides in your heart and share it with us at the RYM. Together we can spread peace, one community at a time and eventually “live as one.”
See You Sunday!
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Thank you to Susie O’Donoghue at Pingo Studios and Clark Libbey for their contributions to this article.

Alex Paramo is an Author and Co-Founder of Community Publishing. Community Publishing brings local artists of all mediums together in creative collaborations for distribution as multimedia eBooks while promoting literacy in our communities.

We are proud to be a community partner and digital marketer at the Rail Yards Market.#JoinOurCommunity at http://communitypublishing.org