Pali temple to host Peace Day events

The fifth annual Peace Day Interfaith Celebration, sponsored by the Pacific Buddhist Academy and other groups, will be held Friday at the Honpa Hongwanji Hawaii Betsuin.

Slated to start at 7 p.m., the event is organized in conjunction with the United Nations’ International Day of Peace, which will observed around the world on Sept. 21.

The service at Honpa Hongwanji Hawaii Betsuin, 1727 Pali Highway, will feature Masahiro Sasaki of Hiroshima among its speakers and musical performances from a variety of religious and spiritual traditions. Sasaki is the brother of Sadako Sasaki, a girl who died of cancer resulting from the bombing of Hiroshima during World War II. The story of her life is told in the children’s book "Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes." The Sasaki family is in Hawaii to dedicate an exhibit of one of Sadako Sasaki’s paper cranes at the Arizona Memorial’s main visitors center at Pearl Harbor.

A "Concert For Peace" will be held Sept. 21, from 9 a.m. to noon at the Wahiawa Hongwanji Mission Social Hall at 1067 California Ave.; call 622-4320. For additional information about the Peace Day event, contact the Rev. Blayne Higa at 532-2649 or Blayne.higa@pbahi.org.