PRESS ADVISORY                                                                              Contact:  Angela Crowley-Koch Physicians for Social Responsibility503-274-2720

angela@oregonpsr.org

SHADOW PROJECT RETURNS TO PORTLAND

 WHAT: Shadow Project – Chalking outlines of human bodies on Portland streets and sidewalks to remember victims of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. WHEN & WHERE: August 2- Pearl District – 5 PM – NW Hoyt &  NW 12^th – First Unitarian Peace Action Group will be chalking shadowsAugust 3 – Salmon Street Fountain – 5:30 pm – SW Salmon & Naito – volunteers will chalk downtown streets and sidewalksAugust 5 – Peace Memorial Park – 2 pm – NE Oregon & Interstate – volunteers will chalk Steel Bridge walkway and Interstate Bus Mall August 6 – Japanese-American Plaza – 4:30 pm – NW Couch & NaitoShadow making begins after ½-hour training and discussion. WHY: The Shadow Project is a citywide remembrance of the human shadows burnt into the sidewalks of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945.  During the sessions listed above, volunteers will receive materials, learn history and techniques, make shadow templates of each other, and be assigned areas of the city in which to draw chalk shadows.   VISUALS: Volunteers of all ages and backgrounds drawing life size chalk outlines of bodies, representing the victims of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The press is invited to photograph and interview participants during these chalking sessions as they cover their assigned areas of the city. Contact:  Angela Crowley-Koch, Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility(503) 274-2720,  info@OregonPSR.org. Background:The Shadow Project was first done in New York, on August 6, 1982.  Since then, it has been repeated many times, in many cities.  Portland hosted Shadow Projects in 1983, 1986, 1990, and 1994-95, sometimes with the City’s permission, sometimes without. Organizers have notified Portland Police and Portland Parks Departments.   

The Shadow Project is part of Portland’s annual Hiroshima Day Memorial, which will be held at the Japanese-American Historical Plaza (NW Couch and Naito) at 6 pm on Sunday, August 6. 

The program features:

 Joel Iwanaga, Channel 6 News, emcee
Reverend Alcena Boozer, president of the Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon
Polo Ronault Catalani, civil rights attorney and columnist for The Asian Reporter
Chisao Hata, dancer/choreographer
Dr. Martin Donohoe, Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility
Reverend Jack Takayanagi, United Church of Christ
Music by Toki Taiko drums and Aurora Chorus  More information at http://www.oregonpsr.org/programs/hiroshimaday.html 

Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR) is a non-profit educational organization committed to the elimination of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction, the achievement of a healthy and sustainable environment, and the reduction of violence and its causes. PSR is the US affiliate of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, recipient of the 1985 Nobel Peace Prize.

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