This summer marks 81 years since the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and across the nation, Back from the Brink Hubs, coalition partners, and endorsing organizations are organizing powerful community events to honor the victims, hear from hibakusha, and renew the urgent call for a nuclear weapons‑free world. From film screenings and speaking engagements to picnics and vigils, these gatherings invite the public to reflect on the legacy of these bombings and to engage in meaningful action toward nuclear abolition.
Events are listed alphabetically by state. Currently, there are events planned in:
- Livermore & Oakland, CA
- West Hartford, CT
- Washington DC
- Cambridge, MA
- Springfield, MA
- Watertown, MA
- Baltimore, MD
- Kansas City, MO
- Ashland & Medford, OR
- Philadelphia, PA
- Jamestown, RI
- Seattle, WA
To find more commemorative events, head over to Physician for Social Responsibility’s Calendar >
Back from the Brink Hub Leaders, coalition partners, and endorsing organizations can fill out this form if they are interested in being added to the calendar of events below.
Livermore & Oakland, CA
Tri-Valley CAREs is organizing two events in the Bay Area to commemorate the 81st anniversaries of the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
On Thursday, August 6, they will hold their annual Hiroshima commemoration and public action outside Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s West Gate in Livermore, California. The gathering will honor the victims and survivors of the atomic bombings and connect their legacy to the ongoing work of the U.S. nuclear weapons complex.
On Sunday, Aug 9, they are also planning a community screening of An Ordinary Insanity, a documentary about Daniel Ellsberg and his work against nuclear war at the New Parkway Theater in Oakland. The screening will include representatives from Tri-Valley CAREs and other local peace and disarmament groups, with an opportunity for discussion and community engagement.
West Hartford, CT
Hiroshima-Nagasaki Remembrance: A Shared Call for Nuclear Weapon Abolition
Date: Thursday, August 6 from 7-9pm
Location: Hartford Friends Meeting House (in the backyard), 144 S Quaker Ln, West Hartford, CT 06119
With the world in ever greater disarray and 5 of the nuclear weapon powers engaged in war in the past year it’s time to join together to Hope Out Loud for the abolition of nuclear weapons – for a nuclear weapon free world.
~ 7:00 pm Program with Music, Speakers and Poetry
~ 8:30 pm Candle Lighting ceremony
Washington DC
DC Nuclear Prayer Day
Date: Thursday, August 6 at 6pm
Location: The front steps of the United Methodist Building, 100 Maryland Ave NE, Washington, DC 20002 (rain location: Chapel in the UM Building)
August 6 and 9, 2026 mark 81 years since the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. We must honor the legacy of the victims and survivors of the attacks and commit ourselves to ridding the world of nuclear weapons. Nuclear Prayer Day is a global prayerful commemoration of these anniversaries and a call for a peaceful world free of nuclear weapons. As the Pentagon and DHS budgets continue to increase to modernize nuclear weapons, fight unpopular wars, and detain our neighbors, people in power are cutting services that our communities actually need, like food assistance, healthcare, and education. Let us gather in prayer and call on lawmakers to choose the grace of helping life to flourish, instead of the greed of funding more war and weapons.
This event will feature prayers for justice and a nuclear-free world, reflections from faith leaders and the nuclear disarmament and larger justice community, music, and calls to action to support legislative measures and educational efforts to build a movement to halt and reverse the nuclear arms race.
Cambridge, MA
Dialogue Nights | Wisdom: How Interconnected Are We, Really?
Date: Friday, August 7 from 7-8:30pm (doors open at 6:30pm)
Location: 396 Harvard St., Cambridge, MA 02138
In the Boston area? Looking to connect with other students and young professionals? Enjoy dialogue and deepening your perspective on global issues? Join us for Dialogue Nights on Friday, August 7th!
Dialogue Nights is a popular event series for college students and young professionals where participants can practice and experience the power of dialogue surrounding global issues. The goal of this series is to empower participants to strengthen their dialogue skills, build connections, and engage with diverse perspectives. Free Food & Admission to college students and young people in their 20s and 30s!
Wisdom: How Interconnected Are We, Really? This upcoming Dialogue Nights will be on wisdom, and it will be the second in a three-part series exploring what our Center founder Daisaku Ikeda described as the core attributes of global citizenship: courage, wisdom, and compassion. Related to the theme of wisdom, we will be commemorating the 81st anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
We hope you will join us for this timely discussion!
Springfield, MA
81 Years After the Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Danger of Nuclear War Is Greater Than Ever – It’s Time To Take Action!
Date: Thursday, August 6 at 4:30pm
Location: Court Square, Downtown Springfield, MA (Directly across Main Street from the MassMutual Center)
Featuring:
- Welcome and opening prayer: Campaign Nonviolence
- Dramatic reading of: “Original Child Bomb,” by Thomas Merton
- Keynote address: Dr. Ira Helfand, PSR, IPPNW, ICAN, BftB
- Call to action: Mayors for Peace/Hiroshima-Nagasaki Seeds Project
- Closing prayers (New England Peace Pagoda, Leverett)
The event will be held outdoors, rain or shine. Bring a lawn chair.
For more information, contact Deacon Bill Toller: (413) 478-5201
Co-sponsored by: Greater Springfield Campaign Nonviolence, Pax Christi Western Massachusetts, JustFaith Ministries, the Agape Community, Sisters of St. Joseph of Springfield, Pioneer Valley Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR), and the Western Massachusetts Back from the Brink Hub.
Watertown, MA
Remembering Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Date: Sunday, August 9 at 6:30pm
Location: Starts in Watertown Square (rain location: First Parish Watertown, 35 Church Street, Watertown, MA)
6:30 PM – Silent Vigil in Watertown Square
7:30 PM – Music/Testimonials at Charles River MDCR Dock
Suzy Giroux, Singer, Songwriter, and Activist
Sue-Ellen Hershman-Tcherepnin, Flutist, WCPJE President
Ray Matsumiya, Executive Director, Oleander Initiative and Grandson of a Hiroshima bombing victim
Tod Gross and Jeanne Trubek, WCPJE Nuclear Disarmament Committee
8:30 PM – Floating of the Candle Boats
Sponsored by Watertown Citizens for Peace, Justice and the Environment (WCPJE) with the support of NE American Friends Service Committee and Massachusetts Peace Action.
Baltimore, MD
Hiroshima Day of Remembrance and Action
Date: Thursday, August 6 from 5-7:30pm
Location: Homewood Friends Meeting House, 3107 N Charles St, Baltimore, MD 21218
Meet at 5pm at the intersection of N. Charles St & 33rd St and join for a banner display before the potluck and talks.
Agenda:
- 5-5:30pm: Gather with banner at intersection of N. Charles St. and 33rd Street, Baltimore: “Hopkins should renounce research on missiles and nuclear weapons.”
- 5:30-6:30pm: Join us for a potluck dinner inside the Homewood Friends Meeting House 3107 N. Charles St. (2 blocks south of banner location). Bring only vegetarian foods please.
- 6:30-7:30pm: Listen to a recounting of 5 examples of local resistance to nuclear weapons from 1988 to the present, told by individuals who were there. This will be followed by questions, answers and discussion of ways to work for nuclear disarmament and abolition in 2026.
Questions: Text us 410-499-8899
Sponsored by PreventNuclearWar-Maryland, Baltimore Nonviolence Center, Homewood Friends Meeting, Chesapeake Physicians for Social Responsibility, Maryland Peace Action.
Kansas City, MO
Kansas City Hiroshima and Nagasaki Remembrance Event
Date: Sunday, August 9 from 1-3pm
Location: University of Missouri-Kansas City Student Union (5100 Cherry St, Kansas City, MO 64110)
The Kansas City Hiroshima and Nagasaki Remembrance event will take place from 1-2 p.m. on Sunday August 9 at the University of Missouri Kansas City (UMKC) Student Union.
National Veterans for Peace (VFP) is holding their national convention in Kansas City August 6-9 at UMKC and the remembrance event falls at the end of their convention, allowing a number of the veterans to join in. VFP President Susan Schnall will be one of the speakers. Japanese-born nurse Atsuki Mori from Warrensburg, MO will share the consequences of the Hiroshima bombing for her family.
The program will be followed by a 2-3 p.m. potluck picnic outside on the grounds of UMKC.
Ashland & Medford, OR
Film Screening: The Seeds of Peace
Date: Monday, August 3 from 6:30pm
Location: SOU Music Recital Hall, 450 S. Mountain, Ashland
A survivor of the Hiroshima atomic bomb confronts her trauma and gathers seeds of trees that survived the blast, planting symbols of hope, healing and remembrance in towns across Oregon 80 years later. Featuring local resident Hideko Tamura Snider. Q&A with director David Hedberg.
Tickets $8, Kids $5. Buy tickets at the door or in advance.
Co-sponsored by One Sunny Day Initiatives and Peace House.
Vigil of Remembrance
Date: Thursday, August 6 at 8am
Location: Entrance to LIthia Park, Winburn Way, Ashland, OR 97520
A ceremony to remember the lives lost in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August of 1945, and the full consequences of nuclear weapons.
An Ordinary Insanity: Community Discussion and Action Meeting
Date: Sunday, August 9 from 6-8pm
Location: Public Library, 205 S Central Ave, Medford, OR 97501
Join to watch the short film An Ordinary Insanity (starring Daniel Ellsberg), then discuss the ongoing threat from nuclear weapons, and learn about opportunities to take action right here in Oregon—including campaigns to stop uranium and other weapons-related mining projects.
Philadelphia, PA
Commemoration of Hiroshima/Nagasaki
Date: Sunday, August 9 from 11am-1pm
Location: Philadelphia Ethical Society, 1906 Rittenhouse Square, Philadelphia, PA 19103
The event will kick off with Kathleen Welch, Hub Leader for BftB Philadelphia, introducing the 29-minute documentary “An Ordinary Insanity.” The documentary will be followed by a round-table discussion surrounding the ethics of nuclear weapons. Jonathon Granoff, President of the Global Security Initiative, will join as one of the speakers.
This event is hosted by the United Nations Association of Greater Philadelphia in collaboration with the Philadelphia Ethical Society and Back from the Brink (BftB).
Jamestown, RI
2026 Jamestown Peace & Remembrance Day
Date: Sunday, August 9 from 12pm
Location: East Ferry Memorial Square (Narragansett & Canonicus Aves), Jamestown, RI
Keynote Speaker:
Jeremy Langill, Executive Minister of RI State Council of Churches
Also:
~ Jennifer Stewart, RI State Representative
~ Rev. Thomas Ferland Pastor of St Mark’s Church, Jamestown
~ Andrew Lohmeier Ph.D., Pax Christi RI member
~ Naoko Shibushawa Ph.D., Associate Professor of History
~ Magnus Moorehead, N.K. High School student
~ Connor Burbridge, Small business owner, Elder-care worker, US Senate candidate
Music by Jamestown’s Ed McGuirl
On August 9, 1945 the Catholic Church in Nagasaki Japan was destroyed by an atomic blast. Would Jamestown’s churches fare any better? Today we are threatened (and we threaten others) with even more powerful thermonuclear bombs. Join us to call on our political leaders to use diplomacy to disarm these weapons worldwide.
Organized by: Pax Christi RI. Co-Sponsored by: RI Chapter of the Episcopal Peace Fellowship, RI State Council of Churches
Seattle, WA
Remember the Victims of the Atomic Bombings and Grow Our Movement for Freedom from Atomic Bombs
Date: Thursday, August 6 from 4:30-8pm
Location: South of the Green Lake Bathhouse (West Green Lake Drive North & Stone Avenue North), Seattle, WA 98115
Every year, hundreds of people in Seattle gather for From Hiroshima to Hope, a beautiful evening of outdoor art, poetry, and tabling to honor the victims of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and all victims of war and violence.
Back from the Brink’s Washington State Hub, Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility, is glad to be one of many groups co-sponsoring the event, and will be tabling there to grow our movement and share how people can take action for Back from the Brink. Many people at the event are passersby who are completely new to advocating for a nuclear-weapons-free world, so it’s a great way to grow our movement.
For those interested in tabling, the group will meet at 4:30. Tabling will wrap up by 6:30 when the performance and speaker portion of the evening begins. If you’re interested in tabling, you’re more than welcome to join after 4:30, or start making lanterns or exploring the photo exhibit before 6:30.
Register below if you’d like to join the tabling effort, and a Washington State Hub member will be in touch with more details.