Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony - Montréal Space for Life Invites Everyone to Commemorate August 6, 1945 at the Botanical Garden

MONTREAL, Aug. 4, 2014 /CNW Telbec/ - Montréal Space for Life invites you to share a moment of contemplation at the Peace Ceremony to be held on August 5 at 7 p.m. at the Montréal Botanical Garden, to commemorate the bombing of the city of Hiroshima 69 years ago. Anie Samson, Vice-Chair of the Montréal Executive Committee, and Charles-Mathieu Brunelle, Director of Space for Life, invite Montrealers to attend the ceremony in the Japanese Garden, along with Tatsuo Arai, Consul General of Japan, and Claude Gagné, President of the Japanese Garden and Pavilion Foundation. The ceremony will be held simultaneously with the one taking place in Hiroshima itself on August 6. Montréal Mayor Denis Coderre is currently on a mission there at the invitation of his counterpart, Mr. Kazumi Matsui, as part of the twinning arrangement that has linked the two cities since 1998.

A time for reflection
On August 5, at exactly 7:15 p.m., corresponding to the time when the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, the Peace Bell will be sounded in the Japanese Garden as a reminder of this sad event. The bell will ring 69 times throughout the day on August 6 to commemorate the tens of thousands of lives wiped out in the tragedy. This is a rare opportunity to hear the pealing of this bell, a reminder of the passing years and the pressing need to come together to work for peace around the world.

A symbol of hope
The Peace Bell, an original concept by Masahiko Katori, a famous Japanese artist, was installed in the Japanese Garden in 1998. It was presented by the city of Hiroshima to the city of Montréal, as a token of eternal peace and friendship between the two cities. Bells are important traditional features in Japan and in Buddhist temples. The Peace Bell is inscribed with a message of hope for the future, peace doves near the top, the Great Bear (Ursus Major) and Southern Cross constellations, representing the northern and southern hemispheres, and other typical symbols of Japanese culture. Only five other cities have received peace bells from the city of Hiroshima: Chongqing, China; Hanover, Germany; Honolulu, Hawaii; Taegu, South Korea and Volgograd, Russia.

Montréal Space for Life is made up of four attractions on the same site: the Botanical Garden, Biodôme, Insectarium and Rio Tinto Alcan Planetarium. These four prestigious municipal institutions form Canada's largest natural science museum complex. Together, they are launching a daring, creative urban movement, urging everyone to rethink the connection between humankind and nature and cultivate a new way of living.

For further information and to purchase tickets online, see our website montrealspaceforlife.ca.

Access: The entrance closest to the Japanese Garden is at 4581, rue Sherbrooke Est, via the Insectarium gate.

SOURCE: Espace pour la vie

Nadine Fortin
Communications Co-ordinator
514 868-3053/514 250-7753
[email protected]