Toronto, Canada – At the initiative of Ambassadors for Peace Teresa and Ramon Torralba, Toronto Peace Road 2024 was held in partnership with the Philippine Legacy and Cultural Alliance (PLACA) on Saturday, June 22, at the Woodside Square shopping center. Peace Road became the centerpiece of PLACA’s inaugural "All for One Multi-Cultural Festival,” which filled one parking lot with food and other vendors, children’s rides and booths promoting various businesses. Canada’s Multiculturalism Day fell on June 27 this year.
The event started with excellent entertainment from different ethnic communities: Ukrainian, Sri Lankan, Colombian, as well as UPF’s own ‘Top Gun’ dance group. This was all organized by UPF’s Mr. Ryan Abenir. It was wonderful preparation for the Peace Road walk. This included a Chinese marching band, whose playing attracted a lot of attention, and representatives of other groups, such as the Ontario Filipino nurses, wearing Peace Road t-shirts, marching around the shopping center parking lot, ending in front of the main stage. Between marchers and watchers the crowd was around 300.
Dr. Moonshik Kim, chairman of UPF-Canada, gave a speech explaining the project’s genesis, purpose and motivation, including quotations from UPF’s co-founders, Rev. Sun Myung Moon and Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon. Ambassador for peace certificates were given to three local dignitaries: Mr. Raymond Cho, the 88-year-old Ontario minister of seniors and accessibility; local Toronto City Councilor Mr. Brad Bradford, who both spoke warmly of the Peace Road and referenced Dr. Kim’s speech; and Mr. Kwan Sik Moon, the leader of a large group of Korean seniors attending and performing in the program. Others speakers included Ms. Ya’ara Saks, the federal minister of mental health and addictions, and local MP Ms. Salma Zahid, both already ambassadors for peace.
The program ended with more wonderful entertainment: a Samulnori band of Korean elders, youthful Chinese dancers, and a very young troupe doing cartwheels, flips and more to the delight of the, sadly, few who weathered a strong downpour!
