Hanford Lights for Peace

Illuminated paper bags line a grassy field, people gather at the far end in the fading daylight. — Lights for Peace event in Howard Amon Park in Richland, WA.
NPS/ZIMMERMAN

Reflection

On August 9, 1945, the US Army Air Forces dropped the plutonium-fueled Fat Man atomic bomb over Nagasaki, Japan, in the second, and so far the last, atomic bombing of a population. The Manhattan Project facility at Hanford produced the plutonium used in the Fat Man bomb and in the Trinity Test on July 16, 1945.

Hanford Lights for Peace

Each year on August 9 at 8:00 pm PDT, the park hosts a Lights for Peace at the Fingernail Stage in Howard Amon Park in Richland, Washington. The program features music from the Mid-Columbia Mastersingers, a guest speaker, and an opportunity to ring a peace bell. Staff also display luminarias with messages of peace from the public along a path that participants are encouraged to walk for a quiet, contemplative experience.

Every July, the park posts a full schedule of events on the park's online calendar, and Facebook page.

More Commemoration Events

For those who are unable to attend the August event in person, a virtual bell ringing is available from 6:00 am EDT on August 6 through 11:59 pm PDT on August 9. A virtual Lights for Peace is available year-round.

As part of the Days of Peace and Remembrance, the park solicits Messages of Peace from the public in advance of the August commemoration events.