[Bcma-l] Press Release

Thu, 3 Jul 2008 15:56:57 -0700

------=_Part_5218_10050612.1215125817102
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Content-Disposition: inline

PETER'S DAY A HIGHLIGHT

The first Peter's Day was in 1895 when Doukhobors in three separate areas of
the Caucasus secretly met on June 29th and burned all of their weapons as an
endorsement of pacifism. The event was orchestrated by Peter Verigin, and
coincided with Peter's Saint's Day; June 29th . It has been celebrated
annually ever since.

This year saw the most successful Peter's Day ever at the Doukhobor
Discovery Centre. Pleasantly cool under two large tents in spite of the heat
wave, a sizable group of attendees enjoyed a varied program ranging from
speeches and performances by local political figures Alex Atamanenko and
Katrina Conroy to exhortations by well known Doukhobor figures such as J. J.
Junior.

There was a bountiful pot luck repast after prayers at the Verigin Memorial
Park. Between 1 and 4 o'clock, the program took place with choirs, speeches,
musical groups and special commemorative notice of Peter V. Verigin as a
recently declared Person of National Historic Significance.

Curator Larry Ewashen spoke of the process involved in attaining the
designation and then read one of Verigin's most famous psalms entitled: What
Is A Commune?

The Friends in Unity Choir was featured with a narrative about the trek to
BC in 1908, and the young female choir from Krestova performed two moving
numbers. Popular gospel singer Billy Chernoff made a special appearance and
the program was completed with an open mike featuring greetings, poems and
personal messages.

Although Peter's Day is generally a well attended successful event, this one
will be difficult to surpass.

larry A. Ewashen
Doukhobor Discovery Centre
112 Heritage Way
Castlegar BC V1N 4M5
www.Doukhobor-Museum.org
250-365-5327

------=_Part_5218_10050612.1215125817102
Content-Type: text/html; charset=UTF-8
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Content-Disposition: inline

PETER'S DAY A HIGHLIGHT

The first Peter's Day was in 1895 when Doukhobors in three separate areas of the Caucasus secretly met on June 29th and burned all of their weapons as an endorsement of pacifism. The event was orchestrated by Peter Verigin, and coincided with Peter's Saint's Day; June 29th . It has been celebrated annually ever since.

This year saw the most successful Peter's Day ever at the Doukhobor Discovery Centre. Pleasantly cool under two large tents in spite of the heat wave, a sizable group of attendees enjoyed a varied program ranging from speeches and performances by local political figures Alex Atamanenko and Katrina Conroy to exhortations by well known Doukhobor figures such as J. J. Junior.

There was a bountiful pot luck repast after prayers at the Verigin Memorial Park. Between 1 and 4 o'clock, the program took place with choirs, speeches, musical groups and special commemorative notice of Peter V. Verigin as a recently declared Person of National Historic Significance.

Curator Larry Ewashen spoke of the process involved in attaining the designation and then read one of Verigin's most famous psalms entitled: What Is A Commune?
The Friends in Unity Choir was featured with a narrative about the trek to BC in 1908, and the young female choir from Krestova performed two moving numbers. Popular gospel singer Billy Chernoff made a special appearance and the program was completed with an open mike featuring greetings, poems and personal messages.

Although Peter's Day is generally a well attended successful event, this one will be difficult to surpass.
<div>&nbsp;</div>
<div>larry A. Ewashen Doukhobor Discovery Centre 112 Heritage Way Castlegar BC V1N 4M5 <a href="http://www.Doukhobor-Museum.org">www.Doukhobor-Museum.org</a> 250-365-5327 </div>

------=_Part_5218_10050612.1215125817102--