For Mariia Levchenko, celebrating International Day of Peace in Gainesville wasn’t easy.
The hula hoops, food trucks and music were a stark contrast from the bombs that devastate her war-torn home country of Ukraine.
Levchenko, a fellow for the River Phoenix Center for Peacebuilding in Gainesville — an organization dedicated to building safer communities by disrupting the cycle of violence — lives and works in Gainesville for the next four months, learning peacebuilding skills she can take home to Ukraine.
“Peace is the most essential thing right now, especially in Ukraine,” she said. “If people know about the peace, then they want to fight for it.”
Levchenko and the rest of the team at the River Phoenix Center for Peacebuilding threw a celebration of International Day of Peace on Bo Diddley Community Plaza on Thursday. From 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., about 300 people joined the festivities, which included a proclamation read by Gainesville Mayor Lauren Poe, a flag ceremony, a flash mob, guest speakers and a march about five blocks down West University Avenue from Bo Diddley Plaza to the Center for Innovation and Economic Development. Attendees enjoyed food from Cilantro Tacos, Off the Griddle food truck and snow cones from Tropical Sno. There were also about 10 to 15 booths set up for organizations such as Peace4Gainesville, the Alachua County Labor Coalition and Aces in Motion.
The event was meant to unite the community and remind everyone that making a difference is possible, said Jeffrey Weisberg, the executive director of River Phoenix Center for Peacebuilding.
“People get so in their own track of life and their interests,” he said. “So it’s really important to expand that and bring more people into different causes.”
For Kang, a fourth-year UF psychology doctoral candidate from China, celebrating International Day of Peace has become somewhat of a tradition. Last year, she celebrated International Day of Peace with meditation.
Although Gainesville is a diverse city, Kang, 28, said she feels the recognition of this diversity is few and far between. Besides the occasional march or rally, the importance of lifting up diversity and peace often subsides, she said.
“It makes diversity more visible,” Kang said.
Although peace looks different in Ukraine than it does in Gainesville, Levchenko said it’s encouraging to see the city participate in the global celebration.
“For me it’s very painful to be here, but at the same time it’s beautiful because I can tell the story about my country,” she said.
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Eight-year-old Andrew Bittikoffer stands next to a model of the Earth during a flag ceremony promoting global unity as a part of the celebration of the International Day of Peace held on Bo Diddley Community Plaza.
