The Sri Chinmoy Oneness-Home Peace Run, history’s largest peace torch relay, will be in Santa Barbara, 10 a.m. Monday, June 8 at Alice Keck Park Memorial Gardens, 1500 Santa Barbara St.
The international team from seven different countries are on a four-month journey through all 50 states in honor of the 250th Anniversary of America. They share a message that peace begins with the individual.
Along the route they meet with schools, youth organizations and groups to give local citizens an opportunity to express their hopes and dreams for peace.
In Santa Barbara, Sue DiCicco, founder of The Peace Crane Project, will receive the Torch-Bearer Award and pass the Peace Torch.
The team will cover 86 miles on the eighth running from Carpinteria to Santa Maria on Rte. 192 and 154, passing the Peace Torch along the way.
An estimated 50,000 children in some 1,000 cities and towns along the route are expected to participate when the Peace Run visits schools, youth organizations and local events.
Runners will offer educational presentations that promote self-esteem and the oneness of humanity.
For nearly 40 years the Peace Run has traversed more than 160 nations throughout the Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia as a symbol of humanity’s universal aspiration for a more peaceful world.
A team of runners left New York City on April 16 and will pass the Torch along the 10,000+ mile route. The continuous relay will run through all 50 states in honor of the 250th Anniversary of America during the four-month journey before arriving back in New York in August.
The team will run in Alaska and Hawaii in September. The European Peace Run will begin in Helsinki, Finland and will make presentations in 13 countries.
Since the inaugural Peace Run in 1987, more than 7 million people have participated, organizers said. Commendations have come from world figures including Pope Francis, President Nelson Mandela, President Mikhail Gorbachev, Saint Mother Teresa, Olympians, state governors, city mayors and celebrities across the world.
Nine-time Olympic Gold-medalist Carl Lewis said, “By carrying the torch, you will be bridging cultural and social barriers, and all the boundaries that separate nation from nation. You will be the living proof of the ancient vision of having a beautiful and harmonious world.”
The Peace Run was inspired by visionary Sri Chinmoy to give citizens a dynamic way to express their own hopes and dreams for a more harmonious world.
An athlete, philosopher, artist, musician and poet, Chinmoy dedicated his life to advancing the ideals of world harmony.
“How can we have peace? Not by talking about peace, but by walking along the road of peace,” Chinmoy said.