Annual Seeds of Peace festival set for Saturday on Greenway

The 10th annual community festival Seeds of Peace will take place Saturday morning along the Hot Springs Creek Greenway Trail.

Event organizers said several organizations new to the festival plan on attending the free event.

What began as an event memorializing the victims of the terrorist attacks on 9/11 slowly morphed into a celebration of peace and unity at the Seeds of Peace community festival. For the past several years, the outdoor event successfully brought together people from all walks of life for one morning each year.

“The small band of dedicated people (who put it together) really think this is important to our community. This has kind of been my passion since 9/11. It’s all interactive, not a static thing, but something where people can come out and talk with each other and see all these different people we have (in the community),” event Co-chair Tracy Freeman said.

The festival will be held from 9 until 11 a.m. Saturday along the first section of the Hot Springs Creek Greenway Trail near the Hot Springs Farmers & Artisans Market. It is held each year right around the International Day of Peace as a way for the local community to participate on a larger scale, Freeman said.

“We focus on personal (peace), family (peace), and (peace across) Arkansas. We have to be peaceful here before we can be peaceful in the world,” she said.

The theme for this year’s festival is “Grow Together for Peace: Cultivate Respect, Safety, and Dignity for All.”

The local nonprofit organization Recognizing Everyone’s Gifts And Respecting Diversity, or R.E.G.A.R.D., sponsors the event and organizers expect to have more groups in attendance than ever before, Freeman said.

The festival provides people of all ages the opportunity to learn more about cultural diversity and focus on peace in the community. Activities this year include music, dance, art and peace-building and educational activities sponsored and led by local civic and community-based organizations.

There will also be face painting with the Hot Springs Thespian Group; an obstacle course sponsored by Levi Hospital; baby goats from the Blooming Wands Farm and information about “goat yoga;” performances by the Threshold Singers; parachutes for peace with Leadership Hot Springs’ student group; and opportunities to grow together for peace with organizations like the Hot Springs Police Department, the House of Israel, and the Miss Victorious pageant, she said.

Participants will be able to take part in craft projects, music and dance demonstrations, and access information and opportunities to “cultivate respect, safety, and dignity” in the community.

Entertainment will also be provided on the farmers market stage.

Call Freeman at 501-6550567 for more information.