Wand To Celebrate 5th Annual Mother's Peace Day

The Washtenaw County chapter of Women's Action for Nuclear Disarmament (WAND) will be sponsoring the fifth annual Mother's Day Festival of Peace on Sun., May 14 from 2 pm to 5 pm at West Park in Ann Arbor. Last year's event attracted over 1000 people and even more are expected this year.

Entertainment will include: singing, dancing and theater by Jay Stielstra, Jesse Richards, Elise Bryant and Common Ground Theater, Michael Lee, Shiela Ritter and Linda Jones and the A2 Trio. Events for children will include: The Aesop Fable Puppet Theatre, The Goodtime Players, new games, arts and crafts, face painting, and workshops in juggling, balloon animáis, and mime. The fourth annual WAND Mother's Day Peace Award will be presented to a member of the community who has made a significant contribution toward peace or social justice. Last year's award was shared by Kim Groome and Barbara Ransby. There will also be a raffle.

Local peace and justice groups will join WAND in setting up tables with literature and peace oriented items for sale. Pizza and apple eider will also be sold.

Mother's Day, originally called Mother's Peace Day, was founded by Julia Ward Howe, composer of the "Battle Hymn of the Republic," in 1872. She intended that it be a day to honor women who had lost sons in the Civil War while "speaking, singing and praying for those things that make for peace." Howe felt strongly that all people had to work for a peaceful world bul that women, especially mothers, were in a unique position to make their feelings known as they felt most directly the pain caused by the loss of a son in war. In her book "Reminiscences" Howe asked "Why do not the mothers of (see next page) MOTHER'S DAY (continued from previous page) mankind interfere in these matters, to prevent the waste of human life which they alone bear and know the cost?"

As the cost has now grown beyond anything she could have imagined, many peace groups, especially those primarily composed of women, feel an increased urgency to edúcate the public about the realities of nuclear war. This is mie of Ann Arbor WAND where a significant number of members are mothers of young children. Jenni Zimmer, the mother of three young sons, is the coordinator of the event for the fifth year in a row.

For more information about the festival or WAND's activities, cali the WAND information line at 761 -1718, Jenni Zimmer at 662-3523, or Susan