Vaughan's Peace Tree Spirit Shines at Annual Celebration

Residents and community group members joined Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua and Members of Council to celebrate the City of Vaughan’s eighth annual Peace Tree Day this morning at City Hall.

“Peace Tree Day is a celebration of the growing diversity that exists in our community,” said Mayor Bevilacqua. “Vaughan is a multicultural city. We speak 99 languages and are home to many different cultural and religious groups. We view this diversity as one of our greatest strengths, and we are unified in the belief that acceptance and understanding will continue to move this city forward without leaving anyone behind. This is the ultimate goal of Peace Tree Day and we are proud to come together to celebrate it.”

This year, the event was emceed by Daniele Zanotti of the United Way York Region and included the official flag-raising ceremony. Vaughan residents and students were invited to submit a flag design depicting harmony, multiculturalism and diversity. The winning design, submitted by Kathy Kalamaris, a Grade 8 student at Blue Willow public school, was transformed into the City’s commemorative flag and recognized in the official flag-raising ceremony. Kathy and the other contest participants were invited to share their artistic concepts with the event attendees.

“The message of the peace tree is about sharing and embracing the many different cultures and faiths within our society. Peace Tree Day serves to inspire children to honour their culture, history, celebrations and festivals and to think about how to inspire peace in their own communities,” said Ward 4 Councillor Sandra Yeung Racco, chair of the Peace Tree Day committee. “Vaughan is a city that promotes and embraces inclusivity within diversity, where we can all be proud to celebrate the multicultural nature of our community every day.”

The third annual Peace Tree Ambassador Award was presented at the event to Malichanh Phiphat, a longtime member of the Lao Association of Ontario whose commitment to providing support to new immigrants has helped welcome and unite Lao communities across the province. The award recognizes individual participation in social, recreational and cultural activities that help build understanding and tolerance between communities or individuals, including personal acts of kindness, volunteerism, mentoring and leadership.


Recording artist Errol Lee joined the Royal Crest Academy choir to perform the national anthem and the Peace Tree song, titled We Care, as part of the ceremony, which also included the unveiling of the official peace tree, a symbol reflecting all cultures and faiths joining together to celebrate peace and diversity. The peace tree will remain on display at City Hall.

Inspired by the award-winning film The Peace Tree by Mitra Sen, Peace Tree Month is held every June in the City of Vaughan for youth and families to celebrate peace and diversity through the arts and to work together to create new peace initiatives in schools and communities.