BRUNSWICK

The Peace Fair will take to the downtown Mall in Brunswick 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 1, offering art, music and an opportunity to consider the possibilities of peace in our time.

Christine DeTroy has been working with the Peace Fair since it’s inception in 2005.

“That was the 60th year since the ending of World War II and the dropping of the atomic bomb, and that was really what we set out to memorialize,” DeTroy said.

Although DeTroy said we still need to memorialize the end of the war, “We need to grow beyond that and really look at the issue of why we have so many wars and how peaceful living is possible.”

DeTroy said so many times people will say, “Well, peace isn’t possible,” but she responds that peace is possible by raising awareness and asking ourselves what the children of the world really deserve.

Driven by her own memories as a child in Germany during WWII, DeTroy feels this is a different kind of fair.

“Do we give them trinkets, do we give them fast food? None of that lasts, you know?” DeTroy said.

She said the Peace Fair seeks to move from the typical midway entertainments of creaky rides and stuffed toys to something that will engage the children and entertain them in a more thoughtful way.

The theme of the fair, “Children Ask The World of Us,” challenges fairgoers with six questions regarding the next generation: How shall we feed them? How shall we keep them safe from war and violence? How shall we protect the earth for them? How shall we keep them healthy? How shall we teach them? How shall we ensure a compassionate society?

Fair organizer Rosalie Paul said each tent will represent one of those guiding questions where participating nonprofits will invite the public to think of the challenges we face and what’s possible.

“We hope people will leave the fair feeling a little energized about the possibilities,” Paul said.

She added: “But the possibilities really do require each of us to be involved to stand up for what we believe in and to say, how shall we feed the children?”

Whether it’s more food pantries or a more equitable income, Paul said it’s about participating in becoming part of the solution.

“It’s not fried dough but there will be delicious brownies and cookies over at the refreshment table,” Paul said.

There will also be arts and crafts activities, poetry and music groups performing, creating a feastive atmosphere, DeTroy said.

DeTroy emphasized that it’s a chance for people to come together and realize that peace work “is not drudgery.”

“It is not about having to weep at all times,” DeTroy said. “It is something very positive.”

Other activities include, Veterans for Peace will be designing and making buttons for kids to wear. The United Nations Association will be having people make signs of what they would like to ask the U.N. and having their picture taken for their Facebook page. The Art Van will also be on hand with projects for people of all ages.

Asked if she thinks instilling a culture of peace is more difficult with the U.S. entrenched in more than a decade of war, DeTroy said: “I think there are so many things happening in this world that it sort of takes a back seat, except of course, for the families who do indeed have family members in the war and for them it’s a terrible thing to live with, to know a loved one is exposed to danger and death.”

DeTroy said today the war is in the news but that the effects aren’t felt here in terms of bombs, hunger and death, making it easier to live with but that regardless of where it happens, no one life or death is more important than another’s.

“It’s about saying ‘I do love people’ and together we can do something,” DeTroy said, and that it just takes a bit of courage.

The event will close in the afternoon with a sing along of Woody Guthrie tunes such as This Land is Your Land and Red River Valley. Song books will be provided. The Guthrie quote on the back sums up the fair: “This world is your world. Take it easy, but take it!”