The inaugural William Stafford Peace Festival will take place in Twisp on Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 19-20, co-sponsored by Root.ED Nature School and the Confluence Poets.
The event, in commemoration of International Peace Day, celebrates the 10th anniversary of the William Stafford poetry readings in the Methow Valley. Speakers, poets, artists, musicians, and other community members will facilitate the different sessions.
Here’s an overview of events:
Saturday, Sept. 19
• 9-10:30 a.m., Peace Button-Making Workshop at Methow Arts
• 10:30 a.m.-noon, Peace Writing Workshop at Twisp Park with Subhaga Crystal Bacon; register at PoetryAwakening@gmail.com
• Noon-1 p.m., peaceful protest near the corner of Highway 20 and Glover Street
• 1:30-2:30 p.m., Community Café, Conversation on Choosing Hope, Waging Peace (bring your lunch) at Twisp Park, with Susan Speir and Byron Odion
• 2:30-4 p.m., Nature Walk and Storytelling for Children and Families at Methow Valley Native Garden, Root.ED Nature School with Rob Crandall and Methow Natives Liz Blackman and Imelda Cervantes Barnard
• 4:30-5:30 p.m., Intergenerational Peace Flag-Making Workshop at TwispWorks Pavilion, and Peace Song Sing-Along
Sunday, Sept. 20
• 10-11 a.m., Talk on Pledging Peace, William Stafford’s Pacifism and BioEarth’s Peace Pledge, at Methow Valley Community Center, with speakers Cindy Williams Gutiérrez and Liz Blackman
11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Deep-dive Discussion of William Stafford’s Meditative Poetry at WellSpring (Methow Valley Community Center), with Teresa Williams; register at teresaw148@yahoo.com
• 1:30-2:30 p.m., Meditation on Equanimity and Lovingkindness at WellSpring (Methow Valley Community Center), with Sharon Cohen
• 3-5 p.m., William Stafford Poetry Celebration at The Confluence: Art in Twisp, with keynote speaker Sheela McLean and other featured readers, plus musical guests Lynette Westendorf and Ken Bevis
