OLEAN — Love in Action Cattaraugus County is inviting the community to a Peace Walk and Celebration on Sunday, Sept. 20, from 2 to 5 p.m., beginning at Lincoln Park.
After the community walk, live entertainment and family-friendly fun are part of the event. Sponsors include Cutco, Studio 4 East, Askey General Supply, Hedley Brook Insurance, and Zonta.
Katie McMullen, one of the Love in Action stewards who organized the event, said, “I am so excited to see our plans in action. We believe nonviolence begins right where we live – in how we treat our neighbors, respond to conflict, care for one another, and create spaces where everyone feels valued and welcome. Small actions, multiplied across a community, can make a meaningful difference.”
Sher said, “We want to gather in community with as many neighbors as we can to promote kindness, connection, and nonviolence in our daily lives. Walking is optional, and we’ll also have activities for everyone like games, music, face painting, sidewalk chalking, balloon animals, a ‘potting zoo’ with seeds from around the world, and a local line dancing group will come to perform and also give a dance lesson to anyone who would like to join in.”
Andrea Oakley, another lead Love in Action Peace Walk organizer, said, “Creating a culture of peace begins with how we treat one another in our own communities. We can choose to act from compassion rather than fear, and we can teach both children and adults that our words matter and have an impact on the people around us. Nonviolent communication is a skill that anyone can learn, and choosing to communicate with respect is something we can all practice. The world may be experiencing violence on a massive scale, but we can still choose, as a community, to live peacefully and respectfully with one another. Peace isn’t simply something we hope for in the world — it is something we can choose, right here, together.”
The Peace Walk is the local kickoff of an international movement called Campaign Nonviolence always held between Sept. 21 and Oct. 2. In 2025, the observances mobilized a reported 5,595 events involving more than 100 participating groups and organizations in the United States and internationally. This movement is the action arm of Pace e Bene Nonviolence Service, an independent, non-denominational nonprofit founded in 1989 that promotes justice, peace, and well-being through education, resources, training, community building, and action grounded in active nonviolence. Its name is an Italian Franciscan greeting meaning “Peace and all Good.”
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