CLEARWATER - Clearwater joins communities around the world as they fill the skies with music at the "September Concert". The Sept. 11 event will begin with a brief ceremony at 5:30 p.m. on the steps of Clearwater's City Hall, 112 S. Osceola Ave.
After the presentation of colors and remarks by Mayor Frank Hibbard, participants will walk across the street for a concert in the historic Peace Memorial Church. The path will be lined with "peace pinwheels" crafted by the children of Skycrest Elementary School. Drummers and dancers from Dundu Dole, musical selections from community choirs, and other musicians will be present. A world-wide sing-a-long will conclude the concert.
The "September Concert" started in 2002 on the first anniversary of 9/11. Since then the message of peace through music has spread further and further. In 2005, more than 115 individual concerts were held. September 11, 2006, marks the fifth anniversary of the attacks on the United States, and is also the 50th anniversary of Sister Cities International. The sister city movement in the United Stated emerged from a White House Summit on Citizen Diplomacy held in 1956, when President Dwight Eisenhower called on Americans to practice people to people diplomacy in the name of peace.
This event is sponsored by the City of Clearwater, Clearwater Arts Foundation and Sister Cities International. It is an opportunity to spread a message of hope. The City of Clearwater is an active sister cities participant and recently received an award of recognition by Sister Cities International in Washington, D.C. for its 47 year sister city relationship with Nagano, Japan.