International Day of Peace to be Marked in Lake Wales by Peace Pole Project

Courtesy Rotary International

Lake Wales will soon become the first community in Polk County to raise a "peace pole" in recognition of the International Day of Peace on September 21. The public is invited to a ceremony that will take place in the city's Memorial Garden in front of city hall on that Saturday morning, beginning at 10 a.m.

The City of Lake Wales is joining local Rotary clubs in Polk, Hillsborough, Hardee and Highlands Counties in the international project, funding ten of the art-covered poles at locations around the city. Each pole depicts 19 pieces of award-winning children's art from 19 different countries.

"I'm proud that Lake Wales is the first to adopt the program," said Rotary District Governor Chevon Baccus. "The times are so unsettling that it's a good time to focus on peace and find common ground, Baccus said. "We all need to be focusing on being kinder, having less conflict, and caring about each other. Let's be the city of peace."

The city issued a proclamation recognizing the day, which Baccus said is only the start of a project that Rotarians are calling "100 Day of Peace," aimed at encouraging people to start thinking about building bridges through harmony, friendship, understanding and cooperation.

According to Rotarian Stephanie Lutton, the club plans to distribute materials listing the GPS coordinates of all ten peace poles so that members of the public can take up the challenge of locating them, pose for photos, and share them on social media.

"People can use it as a geo-caching challenge, have a little fun with it, and create posts about peace," Baccus said.

The Rotary clubs are also looking for others to sponsor additional peace poles. Businesses may adopting them for a contribution of $500, which will support Rotary programs. For more information, reach out to Rotary District Governor Chevon Baccus at [email protected] or (863) 651-1065.

The General Assembly of the United Nations established the International Day of Peace in 1981. Since then, more than a quarter of a million peace poles have been planted around the globe.