International Day of Peace, celebrated on Sept. 21 of each year, was created by a United Nations Resolution in the 1980s, and has become a time for global celebration, education and reflection on peacebuilding. The Dayton region has a special role due to the Dayton Peace Process, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. To commemorate the International Day of Peace and the Dayton Accord, Peace Dayton will sponsor events through Sept. 29 in Dayton and surrounding communities. For a full list of events, visit http://www.peacedayton.org.

Of special note to Yellow Springs residents will be an event held on Thursday, Sept. 24, as part of the international #LightTheWay event in recognition of climate change. The event is sponsored by the Miami Valley Council for Native Americans, and begins at 5 p.m. with a Feast for Peace at Miamisburg Mound, followed by a candlelight walk to the former Mound Laboratories site. Mound Laboratories was a post-WWII nuclear research and production facility connected to the Manhattan Project, which produced the atomic bombs dropped in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The guest of honor will be village resident Toshiko Asakawa, who was interned as a young woman in Arizona during WWII.

As part of the events, many “Feast for Peace” meals will be eaten in and around Dayton, and villagers are encouraged to hold or sponsor their own Feast for Peace, whether as families, groups or for the whole community. It’s as easy as sharing a meal with others, and designating the meal in honor of peace. To add a meal to the Global Feast map, visit daytonpax.com/peacedayton/global-feast-for-peace.