Art meets protest at the Peace Crane installation that Tallahasseeans Who Believe It’s Time to Come Home have set up at Tallahassee's Railroad Square. Nearly 4200 origami peace cranes have been displayed and strung up lining the street and winding through the trees. On Friday evening Dec. 7th hundreds and hundreds of folks passed through the display during visits to the local arts enclave.



The local CBS affiliate graced the event with a 22 second report on Friday...

more pics below the fold...


Photos courtesy of mettamomma.
mettamomma's write-up -
"A Tallahassee, Florida- based group, advocating an end to U.S. involvement in the war in Iraq and returning all troops home hung more than 4,000 white origami cranes in the sculpture garden at the entrance to Railroad Square in downtown Tallahassee.

The debut of the installation was Friday, December 7th, 2007. It will remain up until the end of the year, weather permitting.

The “Cranes,” a universal sign of peace, represent the number of coalition soldiers who have died in the Iraq war. The installation also honors Julian McMackin Woodall, 21, a local Marine killed in Iraq in May, who loved to make the cranes as a child. Julian's mother Meredith McMackin has been involved with the sponsoring group since long before his death. He would have turned 22 Tues., Dec. 4, 2007, the day the exhibit started going up.

The installation is sponsored by the local group “Tallahasseeans Who Believe It’s Time to Come Home.” The group was responsible for the luminary memorial at Lake Ella in March that commemorated the 4th anniversary of the war. Since the luminary event, almost another 700 troops have died.

Su Ecenia , the group's founder, said, “Hundreds of people in our community participated in folding, stringing and hanging these cranes. We are unified in our desire to see this war end and for the safe return home of our troops.” '

The 4,000 cranes were made by hundreds of local people including members of spiritual communities, schools, a Girl Scout troop and private citizens.

If you'd like to get info so as to do this project in your community, contact me and I'll tell you how to get in touch with the organizer here. Su is a homemaker and former nurse who after she saw a documentary showing injured Iraqi children decided to do what she could to draw a quick end to the war. We'd love for this idea to be adopted by other cities.

The next project that Tallahasseeans Who Believe It's Time to Come Home plan will be in March, 2008, and will commemorate the war and light the way to peace by circling Lake Ella with more than 4,000 people who will serve as human luminaries by holding candles and having over their hearts the name of a fallen soldier. Contact me if you'd like to help organize this or participate in it."

mettamomma's photo album

Here's a pitiful one para report on wvtv channel 6....

Peace Cranes at Railroad Square
Posted: 11:14 PM Dec 7, 2007
The origami peace cranes represent the number of soldiers who have died in the war in Iraq. They also honor Julian Woodall, a Tallahassee marine killed there in May. It took an average of six people at a time, about 35 hours to fold the cranes and they will remain up until the end of the year.

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