Plan to participate in Northglenn's Independence and Peace for All activities during the July 4 th Family Festival held at E. B. Rains Jr. Memorial Park. The activities will begin at 10:00 a.m. on the Community Stage with folk dance performances by the Edelweiss Volkstanzgruppe and the Mestizo Dancers.

Following these performances, additional activities are scheduled at the Peace Garden from 12:00 - 1:00 p.m. Entertainment will include a Lakota storyteller, a Navajo DÍNE' (also known as the Peace Song Facing the Four Directions), and we will release white doves to symbolize our desire to promote peace in the City of Northglenn. Free mementos such as "May Peace Prevail on Earth" materials and buttons will be given to the public. Representatives from several Northglenn non-profit organizations will distribute information about their agencies at a booth near the PeaceGarden.

The PeaceGarden, located on the west side of E.B. Rains Jr. Memorial Park, was created and first planted in May 2001 to remind us to keep peace ever-present in our thoughts. A Peace Pole was erected in the center of the garden with the inscription "May Peace Prevail on Earth" in 12 languages. Students from NortheastMiddle School conducted research and identified the languages most spoken in homes in Northglenn. These languages are English, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Arabic, Hebrew, Navajo, Swahili, Vietnamese, and Sign Language. Multicultural events are held at the PeaceGarden each summer.

Dedicated citizens have formed a committee to organize the July 4 th activities. A portion of the funding for the July 4 th activities was received from a community building mini-grant. The mini-grants are made available through the City of Northglenn to build relationships among residents as they address a neighborhood or city-wide issue.

Other funders are Dodge Signs, Northglenn Community Foundation, Northglenn Arts and Humanities Foundation, Northglenn Build a Generation, Northglenn Historical Preservation Foundation, the Northglenn Baha'i Community, Northglenn Neighborhood Development Corporation, Jepson Associates, and the Ariana International Market. If you would like more information about the Independence and Peace for All activities, please contact Marian Kimsey, chairperson, at 303-452-1125 or via email at dwkimsey@amnix.com.