AUBURN - Children singing and dancing for peace began a weekend series organized by the Cayuga County Red Cross.
Third, fourth and fifth graders in “Voices of Joy, Harmony of Peace” were surrounded by parents and friends in the atrium of Genesee Center where a Peace Bazaar was also in progress.
A group of seven children from Casey Park Elementary school came out dressed comfortably in white T-shirts and jeans, dancing to “Jai Ho,” (You Are My Destiny) the end song dance from “Slum Dog Millionaire,” and they had most of the moves down pat.
Akira Strong, Zaakerya Harrell, Chelsie Van Fleet, Veronica Strachan, Mariah Jones, and Sandra Walters, danced with Robert Joyner, the lone boy.
Four more children from Genesee Elementary School sang “Stand by Me” and were joined by more children from both schools who attend Partnership for Results Extended School Day at Casey Park and Genesee.
There were 40 performers in all, dressed in costumes from various cultures around the world. Sue Valentino and Barbara Murphy work with the children from Casey and Genesee who are interested in dance and theater.
The group sang two Michael Jackson numbers, “Heal the World” and “We Are the World.”
The Peace Bazaar in the atrium featured fair trade and earth-friendly items from around the world. Parents drifted over with their children after the performance to check out specialty and ethnic foods, coffees and teas, jewelry, clothing and accessories, baskets, household goods and textiles.
Fairly traded baskets made of straw with “nothing holding them together except the ingenuity of the weavers” from Ghana were sold by Christiana Kaiser, of Syracuse, a former student at the University of Ghana. Kaiser said she worked with women's weaving cooperatives which produced the mainly round traditional style baskets as an income generating industry.
A table with products from San Pedro, El Salvador, had coffee, chocolate products, handmade purses and hammocks. San Pedro is a sister community for Poplar Ridge, whose residents send a delegation every year to visit and assist in a micro-loan program. They use a dollar from each bag of coffee sold to support these projects and have begun a youth scholarship program.
Miranda Buffam Hallet, of Poplar Ridge, first talked to her parents after visiting San Pedro while she was studying for her PhD in anthropology. Other members of the Friends Meeting House in Poplar Ridge connected with CEBES-FUNDAHMER, a Salvadoran organization that coordinates international groups.
Trudy Buxenbaum, Jane Vaill, and Paul Simkin were selling the San Pedro products, They have all lived in the village whose houses have no electricity and have earthen floors.
Local Red Cross director Susan Marteney, who organized the weekend, said original plans for a Jazz for Peace concert featuring Rick DellaRatta, jazz pianist and vocalist, mushroomed into the peace weekend - something much more - a way to connect personal, community and global issues.
Staff writer Kathleen Barran can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 238 or kathleen.barran@lee.net
If you go
Give Peace a Chance weekend
• Peace Bazaar
When: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Nov. 7
Origami Peace Workshops, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Lunch Around the World, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Where: Genesee Center, Atrium (Genesee Mall) & APT Stage Right
Cost: Free
• Pray the Devil Back to Hell documentary, Desmond Tutu
When: 8 pm., Nov. 7
Where: Auburn Public Theater, 108 Genesee St., Auburn
Cost: $5
• How Racism Impacts Us, Lecture; Beth Broadway, Director of Community Wide Dialogues, Syracuse
When: 1 p.m. Nov. 7
Where: Auburn Public Theater Main Stage
Cost $5
• Jazz for Peace Red Cross Benefit Concert
When: Hors D'oeuvres 6 pm., concert 8 p.m., Nov. 7
Where: Auburn Public Theater, 108 Genesee St., Auburn
Cost: $60 per person
Info: E-mail: www.auburnpublictheater.com or APT Box Office, 253-6669
A group of seven children from Casey Park Elementary school came out dressed comfortably in white T-shirts and jeans, dancing to “Jai Ho,” (You Are My Destiny) the end song dance from “Slum Dog Millionaire,” and they had most of the moves down pat.
Akira Strong, Zaakerya Harrell, Chelsie Van Fleet, Veronica Strachan, Mariah Jones, and Sandra Walters, danced with Robert Joyner, the lone boy.
Four more children from Genesee Elementary School sang “Stand by Me” and were joined by more children from both schools who attend Partnership for Results Extended School Day at Casey Park and Genesee.
There were 40 performers in all, dressed in costumes from various cultures around the world. Sue Valentino and Barbara Murphy work with the children from Casey and Genesee who are interested in dance and theater.
The group sang two Michael Jackson numbers, “Heal the World” and “We Are the World.”
The Peace Bazaar in the atrium featured fair trade and earth-friendly items from around the world. Parents drifted over with their children after the performance to check out specialty and ethnic foods, coffees and teas, jewelry, clothing and accessories, baskets, household goods and textiles.
Fairly traded baskets made of straw with “nothing holding them together except the ingenuity of the weavers” from Ghana were sold by Christiana Kaiser, of Syracuse, a former student at the University of Ghana. Kaiser said she worked with women's weaving cooperatives which produced the mainly round traditional style baskets as an income generating industry.
A table with products from San Pedro, El Salvador, had coffee, chocolate products, handmade purses and hammocks. San Pedro is a sister community for Poplar Ridge, whose residents send a delegation every year to visit and assist in a micro-loan program. They use a dollar from each bag of coffee sold to support these projects and have begun a youth scholarship program.
Miranda Buffam Hallet, of Poplar Ridge, first talked to her parents after visiting San Pedro while she was studying for her PhD in anthropology. Other members of the Friends Meeting House in Poplar Ridge connected with CEBES-FUNDAHMER, a Salvadoran organization that coordinates international groups.
Trudy Buxenbaum, Jane Vaill, and Paul Simkin were selling the San Pedro products, They have all lived in the village whose houses have no electricity and have earthen floors.
Local Red Cross director Susan Marteney, who organized the weekend, said original plans for a Jazz for Peace concert featuring Rick DellaRatta, jazz pianist and vocalist, mushroomed into the peace weekend - something much more - a way to connect personal, community and global issues.
Staff writer Kathleen Barran can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 238 or kathleen.barran@lee.net
If you go
Give Peace a Chance weekend
• Peace Bazaar
When: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Nov. 7
Origami Peace Workshops, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Lunch Around the World, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Where: Genesee Center, Atrium (Genesee Mall) & APT Stage Right
Cost: Free
• Pray the Devil Back to Hell documentary, Desmond Tutu
When: 8 pm., Nov. 7
Where: Auburn Public Theater, 108 Genesee St., Auburn
Cost: $5
• How Racism Impacts Us, Lecture; Beth Broadway, Director of Community Wide Dialogues, Syracuse
When: 1 p.m. Nov. 7
Where: Auburn Public Theater Main Stage
Cost $5
• Jazz for Peace Red Cross Benefit Concert
When: Hors D'oeuvres 6 pm., concert 8 p.m., Nov. 7
Where: Auburn Public Theater, 108 Genesee St., Auburn
Cost: $60 per person
Info: E-mail: www.auburnpublictheater.com or APT Box Office, 253-6669
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