Tuesday, September 30, 2014

The Archives of CHALK4PEACE: 150+ Photo Galleries

CHALK4PEACE has been 
archiving photos, news and 
stories before we launched 
CHALK4PEACE worldwide; 
we have 150+ galleries that 
contain more than 2000 
photos/videos of C4P events 
that have taken place on five 
continents and 40+ countries. 
Many of the photographers 
are recognized professionals 
who freely shared their skills 
with us so we could share
these compelling photographs
with you...

To see the impact that 
CHALK4PEACE  has had 
on Teaching Peace over the 
past decade, visit...

The Photo Archives of CHALK4PEACE and John Aaron
photo: Jerry Downs

Photo: Meghan Snyder
photo: John Aaron

In October, the Birthdays of Three Men of Peace...

As October arrives, let 
us honor the birthdays 
of three men who have 
been indispensable to 
bringing attention to Peace...

October 2:
Mahatma Gandhi

October 7:
Archbishop Desmond Tutu







October 9: 
John Lennon
Thank you all for 
your efforts to bring 
Peace to the world....

Monday, September 29, 2014

The Great Mandala sung by Peter Yarrow and Richie Havens

One of my all time 
favorite anti-war songs...
seems like the thing to 
listen to these days...
"Never forget that the 
goal is Peace"- JA
The Great Mandala by Peter Yarrow and Richie Havens

A great CHALK4PEACE music video of the Crane School's 2008 CHALK4PEACE

From our Archives...
the wonderful music video
created by Paradigm Pictures
for the Crane Country Day 
School's 2008 CHALK4PEACE 
event CHALK4PEACE thanks 
the Crane CHALKSTARS, 
Debbie Williams and Paul 
Westmacott for this great
piece set to the music of the 
Primitive Radio Gods...
YouTube: Archive of CHALK4PEACE 2008 Music video by the Crane School
Photo: Deborah Pietsch

Helping Fundraise for another great cause...The ShobeFest...

The ShobeFest is a music 
festival that just had its 
22nd year of wonderful 
acoustic music from 
around the world on 9/27.
Started by Mike Shobe, 
(pronounced "Show-Bee")
an acoustic aficionado from 
Santa Barbara, Mike put 
together festivals with 
Bruce Dragge, Chili Dave 
and Liz & B.D. in Santa 
Barbara, Carpinteria and Ojai. 
Hani Naser Band



















They have included multiple 
Grammy winners and local 
favorites who donate their 
time and talents freely to 
keep the festival strumming 
year after year... Shobe brought 
attention to acoustic music on 
the central coast long before 
"Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?"
Mike passed away in 2011, but 
his musical legacy lives on. As 
he used to say, "Sounds Good!" 
Honeysuckle Possums













Peace, Love, Music and 
Understanding are the words 
of the day and Dave's Chili and 
Paella fed the troops as talent 
from around the world took 
the stage for a foot stompin' 
good time...
Lefty and the Aces












The line up...


A happy Shobefester...







































Jumping at the opportunity to 
help raise money for a great 
cause, I am honored to have 
created the image for this year's 
t-shirt. Since there is no charge 
to attend, annual support is 
generated with the help of 
imaginative designs by well 
known local artists. 
A big fan of Hope & Justin...


Something about the ShobeFest gets people sweet...

















The "Air Uke" design raised a 
lot of money for the event as 
festival goers made generous 
contributions towards their 
favorite t-shirts, sweat shirts 
and tote bags.

Thank you to everyone involved
in this year's ShobeFest, and to 
those who came to enjoy and 
reminisce about past Fests... to
NewbieFesters and especially 
to Earthtrine Farm for the blessed 
venue. "Sounded good!"
Thank you BD & Liz for your generosity...!

How to say "Peace" in Italian..."Pace"

It is pronounced "Pah-Che"
It looks like Pace, but it's 
two syllables..."PAH-CHE!"
Now you know how to say 
Peace in Italian! PACE!
CHALK4PEACE-
GESSO POR PACE!
Ciao!

CHALK4PEACE '14: The Gooden School's 8th year!

Update to this post...
The International Day of 
Peace just sent a #PeaceHug 
to the great CHALKSTARS 
of Gooden!

The Gooden School of 
Sierra Madre, CA knows 
how to Teach Peace! Their 
8th annual CHALK4PEACE
took place on Sept. 25, 2014.
These young CHALKSTARS
took matters into their own 
hands as they covered the 
sidewalks of the campus with
their imaginative visions and 
messages of peace. Gooden, 
you ROCK and you CHALK!
Thank you for your spirit and 
hospitality! Click on the aqua link
to see the photo gallery and story.
CHALK4PEACE '14: The Gooden School


John Aaron with Gooden School CHALKSTARS photo: Mariane van Voorst Ryan

Sunday, September 28, 2014

The International Day of Peace

The International Day of 
Peace, by UN proclamation,
is observed on September 21 
worldwide. Gatherings of all 
manner through art, music, 
dance, meditation, marches, 
and prayers for Peace take 
place on that day; with 
additional events (like 
CHALK4PEACE) 
happening throughout 
September and October to 
honor the world's efforts 
towards Peace. Keep up with 
the International Day of 
Peace year round at this link.
After all, Peace is something 
to dwell upon 365 days a year...
The International Day of Peace website
Clown and Clown Festival CHALK4PEACE, 2011                                                             Monte San Giusto, IT  photo: Gabo Claun

One of our mightiest CHALKSTARS...

One of our mightiest 
CHALKSTARS from
The Gooden School...

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Believe in Peace: Never Give Up...

Wise words from the 
Dalai Lama...

International Alert: Archbishop Tutu's Message for the International Day of Peace 2014

From International Alert, 
a thoughtful piece that 
encourages a shared vision 
for Peace and the positive 
power of words by 
Archbishop Desmond Tutu...
Youtube: Archbishop Desmond Tutu's message for the International Day of Peace 2014

Heading down to the Gooden School to CHALK ON!

The Gooden School, Sierra 
Madre, CA will conduct its 
7th CHALK4PEACE event 
9/25/14. brief convocation 
of some history of the peace 
movement initiates the school 
day, followed by the chalking 
across the campus. Gooden 
has long been a most 
enthusiastic participant in 
CHALK4PEACE, with some 
of the most thoughtful team 
efforts shown in their drawings.
Gooden shows that mentoring
and teamwork are keys to Peace.
We look forward to once again 
attending their event.
photo: CHALK4PEACE, Inc.


photo: Meghan Snyder

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

The inspiring photos of CHALK4PEACE '14: Groveton E.S., Alexandria, VA

In Alexandria, VA on 9/19,
the Groveton (E.S.) Tigers 
celebrated their 7th year of 
CHALK4PEACE and the 
International Day of Peace
with more than 800 young 
artists of all ages showing the 
world, with chalk, what peace 
means to them....CHALK ON,
MIGHTY CHALKSTARS!
Thank you to Marielle Mariano, 
East Coast C4P Coordinator, 
has guided the Tigers and so 
many other C4P teams over 
the years... 
CHALK4PEACE '14- Groveton E.S., Alexandria, VA 9/19
photo: Marielle Mariano
photo: Marielle Mariano

Monday, September 22, 2014

On the International Day of Peace at the Sacred Space

On Sunday 21 Sept., at 
the Sacred Space in 
Summerland, CA, 
created a chalk painting 
meditation of the Buddha 
to honor the International 
Day of Peace and to 
practice CHALK4PEACE.
As an event, it raised the
awareness of #PeaceDay
for many of the visitors to 
the Sacred Space. The 
image was created in about 
two hours; after which I 
held a brief meditation to 
ask the heart of the world 
to become more open to the 
concept of peace on earth.
photo courtesy of Summer Barnett






photo courtesy of Sharon Hall

Saturday, September 20, 2014

A Chalk Painting Meditation of the Buddha at the Sacred Space 21 September 2014

This event, to honor 
the International Day
of Peace, takes place
from 11-2 Sunday, 
21 September 2014
at the Sacred Space,
Summerland, CA.
John Aaron, Founder 
of CHALK4PEACE,  
will be recreating, in 
chalk,  a rendition of 
one of the stunning 
statues of Buddha
that can be seen on 
the grounds....
A Chalk Painting Meditation of the Buddha to Honor the International Day of Peace and CHALK4PEACE

Friday, September 19, 2014

Thursday, September 18, 2014

Join Us For World Peace Meditation Day on 21 September...

"Do not let the behavior 
of others destroy your 
inner peace." 

Be sure to join the Dalai 
Lama and people all over 
the world for World Peace 
Meditation Day on the
21st of September.
World Peace Meditation September 21

CHALK4PEACE '14 Photogallery: Eagle View E.S., Fairfax, VA

Jessica Chinn, Arts Specialist 
at Eagle View, sent these photos 
and said that the whole school 
loved Chalking 4 Peace as a 
way of celebrating their visions 
of peace. This is their sixth year 
of CHALK4PEACE. CHALK ON!
Eagle View Elementary School CHALK4PEACE '14

International Day of Peace: What will you do to honor Peace?

Sunday, Sept. 21 is the 
International Day of Peace...
How will you help bring 
Peace to the world? 



We will CHALK4PEACE...

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

CHALK4PEACE '14 Eagle View E.S. Fairfax, VA- a week-long celebration!

Eagle View E.S. Fairfax, VA 
joined CHALK4PEACE '14 
for their sixth year sharing their 
messages of peace with the 
planet. Jessica Chin is the 
Arts Specialist who organized 
the entire school of CHALKSTARS 
to CHALK4PEACE all week 
from Sept 9-15!








Mrs. Roosevelt's words on Peace....

..at the FDR Memorial, Washington, DC















Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Monday, September 15, 2014

CHALK4PEACE 2014: Facebook Gallery- Open Alternative School

Led by artist and educator
Alejandra Tashma, the 
Open Alternative School
of Santa Barbara became 
the first public school in SB
to make CHALK4PEACE 
happen on their campus!
These photos were taken 
during their 6/2/14 event.
This is the Facebook Gallery 
of that day.
A gallery for OAS is currently 
under construction in the 
CHALK4PEACE Archives.
OAS is mighty! CHALK ON!























Facebook: CHALK4PEACE 2014 Open Alternative School, SB, CA

CHALK4PEACE: Tips to make your C4P event fantastic!

CHALK4PEACE is 
HAPPENING!
Handy tips (our "how to...")
This advice applies more to 
public events than to C4P 
events taking place on 
School, Library or Museum 
grounds...

-Make sure you have 
secured the site you are
planning to draw upon, 
if it’s a public space.
Talk to the city, county 
or the property owners.

- Make sure no laws such 
as trespassing, destruction 
or defacing of property are 
violated. No acts of civil 
disobedience are allowed.
Special permits may be 
required at certain locations. 
CHALK4PEACE is a law 
abiding event. This is NOT 
a protest. This is a positive
progressive event 4 peace.

-Check your location surface. 
Is it a place that where chalk 
will work? Many surfaces will 
work, except for polished 
marble and real crummy 
asphalt or concrete.  

-VERY IMPORTANT: 
If you can...Prep the site by 
sweeping or washing it a day 
or two prior to the event. You 
don’t want kids trying to draw 
through dirt and other junk. 
Your County/City street 
cleaning operations may be 
willing to help.

-Share your plan with your Police 
Department. Let them know. 
They are there to keep you safe.
-Tell the local business owners. 
They may help. 

The propose of CHALK4PEACE 
is to bring people together to 
visualize Peace. This happens 
worldwide and has for 9 years.
These tips will help make sure 
your event is a great success, and 
may encourage to create their own 
CHALK4PEACE events in the future!
A recommended CHALK4PEACE project: The big Peace symbol





Sunday, September 14, 2014

CHALK4PEACE 2014: Boy Scout Pack 66 rocks the pavement in Martinsburg, WV

On Sept. 9, 2014, 
Heather Riker Johnson 
gathered her Boy Scout 
Troop #66 once more 
to CHALK4PEACE at 
St. Joseph's Parish in 
Martinsburg, WV. 
shining example of 
CHALKSTARS, these 
young artists have 
been involved in 
CHALK4PEACE  
through Den Mother 
Heather since 2010.
Thank you to Heather 
and the Boy and Girl 
Scouts of America for 
their continued participation...
CHALK4PEACE 2014: Boy Scouts of America Pack 66, Martinsburg, WV