Listen for Life

[Horizontal line]

Travels with Music

[Horizontal line]

Donna Stoering

[Horizontal line]

Listen for Life on:
[Facebook icon]  Facebook
[Twitter icon]  Twitter 		[UN Peace Day logo]
Share
Event Listing for Oakland, California

[A version of this page fomatted for mobile devices is here]

  Peace Day (September 21st, 2010)

This page will be kept updated with all of the latest details, so please come back often!

Please consider making a donation to our Peace Day fund
 to help cover expenses necessary to make these concerts FREE to the public!

[Printable 8.5" x 11" PDF flyer with full event details ¦ Watch 30sec introductory Peace Day video.]

12:00 noon to 1:00 pm (outdoor concert)
In front of Oakland City Hall 
1 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, Oakland, CA 94612 [map ¦  photo]
- between 14th and 15th St, at Clay St near Broadway, next to Oakland 12th St BART station
Diana Rowan - Harp
Rick Flores - Classical guitar
[Other performers may be added -- this site will be updated to reflect the latest lineup.]

11:00 am to 12:00 noon
St Mary’s Senior Center
925 Brockhurst St, Oakland CA 94608 (near San Pablo Ave) [map]
James “J.B.” Brooks - vocals

5:00 pm to 7:00 pm (outdoor concert)
The Pavilion (Bandstand) at Preservation Park
Martin Luther King Jr Way at 13th St, Oakland CA 94612 [map ¦  photo]
[Other performers may be added -- this site will be updated to reflect the latest lineup.]

6:00 pm to 10:00 pm
St Paul’s Episcopal Church
 114 Montecito Ave, Oakland, CA 94610 [map ¦  photo]
[Other performers may be added -- this site will be updated to reflect the latest lineup.]

7 pm :00to 10:00 pm
St Augustine Catholic Church
400 Alcatraz Ave, Oakland CA 94609 (between Telegraph and College) [map ¦  photo]
The Gasmen – Irish band
Vanessa Van-Anh Vo – Emmy-winning Vietnamese musician
Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir
Patrick Landeza – master of the Hawaiian slack-key guitar
Malvika Sriram – Carnatic Singing from India
Spiritual Image – Filipino Choir
Ricky Garcia – 18yo operatic phenom, accompanied by Judi Thompson
Fr. Mark Weisner
[Other performers may be added -- this site will be updated to reflect the latest lineup.]

7:05 pm to 10:00 pm (admission ticket required)
Oakland Coliseum
7000 Coliseum Way, Oakland, CA 94621 [map ¦  photo]
Oakland A’s vs. Chicago White Sox game dedicated to Peace Day
Ricky Garcia (Listen for Life affiliated singer) will be performing the National Anthem!
[See Ricky's audition video here. When the A's VP for Stadium Operations and his colleagues saw this, they immediately invited Ricky to sing at the game! This is truly a wonderful opportunity for a superb young singer who is also an excellent baseball player!]

Other local events in support of Peace Day:

Mercy Retirement & Care Center
3431 Foothill Blvd, Oakland CA 94601 [map]
Tuesday September 21: Special events in honor of Peace Day

Sunday September 26, 3pm, in Hertz Hall on the UC Berkeley campus [map]
Pacific Mozart Ensemble Concert (dedicated to Peace Day)

Temple Sinai, 2808 Summit Street, Oakland CA 94609 (near 28th & Broadway) [map]
Friday September 24 7:30 pm Shabbat Shalom (dedicated to Peace Day)

events will be updated on a daily basis -- please come back often!
What IS Peace Day? -- and why is Listen for Life involved?

The International Day of Peace  Website says:

"The International Day of Peace ("Peace Day") provides an opportunity for individuals, organizations and nations to create practical acts of peace on a shared date. It was established by a unanimous United Nations resolution in 1981 to coincide with the opening of the General Assembly. The first Peace Day was celebrated in September 1982.In 2002 the General Assembly officially declared September 21 as the permanent date for the International Day of Peace."

Today, two of the leading organizations worldwide for Peace Day info and activities are the Culture of Peace Initiative and Peace One Day. 

The goal of Peace Day has very little to do with there being one day a year where we cease any negative, un-just or violent behaviors, have nice events instead, and then go back to life (or behavior)-as-usual the very next day. Rather, the goal is to create events and educational initiatives that will help raise awareness of not only Peace Day itself but the concept of "peace" meaning different things to different people or cultures on our planet.....to contrast peace by defining what "lack of peace" might be for individuals and/or their communities, and then to raise not only consciousness but also gratitude for the ways in which we can each experience peace at some level for some moments.

Events are created, not only as central gathering points where all demographics can come together for a shared experience, but also as a focal point for year-round work together on specific projects, thus building newfound community and cross-cultural understanding amongst disparate groups.

For these reasons, the shared emotional language of music seems the ideal tool for Peace Day events as well as for Peace-Building initiatives in each global community throughout the year.
Why is Listen for Life involved?

Since the mission of Listen for Life is "to restore music as a unifying force for peace throughout the world", it made sense for UN-related NGOs in Geneva to ask Listen for Life to create and organize MUSIC EVENTS worldwide to raise awareness of both Peace Day and the UN Millennium Development Goals among all age groups and cultures.

We decided to start in the city of our global headquarters: Oakland, California. Ironically, some of the very first Peace Day events worldwide were held in Oakland back in the early 1980s, (and the founder of Peace Day initiatives at the UN was a woman from the Bay Area) but these events had not continued in recent years and current news reports certainly showed a need for renewed Peace Day concepts, not to mention more music!

City Commissioners of Oakland asked Listen for Life to create as many music events as possible throughout Oakland and the surrounding Bay Area for Peace Day, thus (hopefully) putting Oakland "on the map" for a positive reason while also meeting Listen for Life's mission of "restoring music as a unifying force" - to organize these concerts and choose the musicians/groups that would represent their own unique heritages, we would be bringing together the many Diaspora groups and the variety of demographics in our community, working together on music events for a common cause (peace-building activities) not just on PeaceDay but throughout the year.

 We will be organizing several concerts throughout the day on September 21st, in multiple locations.
  • Listen for Life and Peace Day: Steps Taken,  and What Comes Next

  • Listen for Life hosted initial "Planning for Peace Day" meetings in Oakland, beginning in October 2009.
  • We have given presentations on Peace Day and related Listen for Life events to the School Board, the Mayor's Commission on Aging and the Mayor's Commission on Youth. Both of these groups in particular expressed their excited support and desire for committed partnership.....

  • .......So, Listen for Life initiated a new project called JOY (Join Our Youth) where the seniors in each community will mentor the young people in their activities of peace-building. The two groups will each share favorite music styles with the other, in a program can be "scaled" nationally and internationally, using music to erase fears and build trust across generations while also creating events for Peace Day each year.

  • We have now begun meetings with branch managers of the city banks, both the major corporate banks and smaller community banks, to seek their sponsorship and assistance.

  • We have secured the commitment of a few major public venues in Oakland to donate the use of their space to host and sponsor at least one free music performance event on September 21st.

  • We have been contacting houses of worship; service clubs; public, charter and private schools; libraries and community centers; restaurants, businesses, corporations, fellow non-profits, community media outlets, city agencies, hotels, conference centers, outdoor parks,and major athletics teams, to ask for their help in spreading awareness, publicizing the dates, sponsoring the events, and acting as host venues for concerts.

  • We have already booked some major music artists from a variety of cultures that are based in the Bay Area who are generously willing to share their incredible gifts & perform. Now it is time to get the word out to even more musicians so that all can have the opportunity.

  • We have brought our MusicMessage Campaign to several Oakland schools, helping young students to create their own positive "music messages" for peace, which will then be performed on Peace Day 2010.

  • We have met with some of the church leaders in the region to discuss ways their congregations could unite with others in a Peace day initiative.

  • We have met with choral directors and their choirs, to get their commitment of participation and music.

Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums has issued a proclamation (drawn up by Listen for Life with additions contributed by the city's Youth Commission, who are partnering with us on organizing Peace Day events) was released a few days ago (PDF version here).
 
  • The Mayor's Office has also issued a signed Letter of Support for Listen for Life (PDF version here) to bring to potential donors -- both individuals and business sponsors. 
Please consider making a donation! Funds donated to Listen for Life by clicking the button above will go directly to the Peace Day program.
 
THREE PLANNING MEETINGS RECENTLY IN OAKLAND!

Recently, we held highly successful Peace Day planning meetings on Aug 1st, 4th and 5th, in Oakland's Lake Merritt area.

We have 7 events & venues scheduled for Peace Day in Oakland on Sept 21, and we invite anyone to participate as volunteers or performers or planning team members..... please pass this invite on to anyone you know in Bay Area - all ages and skill sets - who would be interested in working for peace in a totally new and unique way.

Contact peaceday@listenforlife.org, and volunteer (or donate) now!

ACTION ITEMS
Here's what YOU can do!

If you live in the Oakland area:

We have many MANY more neighborhood groups/associations to speak to about Peace Day, from now through the summer, many potential performers to contact, and many businesses to approach for funding!

Our first task as we go forward is in recruiting more volunteers.
Your ideas matter, your presence is important, and your volunteered time and skills are essential, so spread the word! Send an email to: volunteers@listenforlife.org.

And if you live in another city, state, or country -  ANYwhere in the world:

Are you interested in helping YOUR community to honor UN Peace Day on September 21 each year, through music events and other activities that unite all demographics?

Then get in touch with us! We can help you with suggestions, examples, and action items that fit your situation. You can also join our mailing list by sending an email to:  peaceday@listenforlife.org.

Or are you a musician, anywhere in the world, wanting to use YOUR talents to ignite inspiration and awareness about Peace Day or the UN Millennium Development Goals?

That's all part of our mission. We can help. Our goal is not to re-invent the wheel where solutions already exist, but to act as a catalyst for change, by connecting existing organizations and individuals so that they can partner with each other to make a real difference! We also offer to deserving musicians worldwide opportunities to participate in our television/radio productions, video programs about music, Internet content, "just GO" concerts, our Notes for Nourishment series, our Listen for Life Music Festivals worldwide and our inspiring MusicMessage Campaigns in schools. All of these productions, programs and projects are specifically designed to meet the needs of particular communities while giving the musicians a chance to serve -  and a chance to survive. Contact us at
artists@listenforlife.org.