What does peace mean to you? 

That question guided an afternoon of conversations, dances, songs and a march from Byrd Park to Carytown during Richmond’s 2025 Peace Festival on Sunday. 

For festival founder Annette Khan, peace means mutual regard and coexistence across 

beliefs and backgrounds. 

“It doesn’t mean you have to agree or believe everything that [others] believe,” Khan said. “Just respect and understand.” 

Mutual understanding was the spark for the festival’s creation in 2004, when children from the Islamic Center of Virginia and Bon Air United Methodist Church reunited after joining together for a candlelight vigil following 9/11. Youth from Bon Air organized skits and other activities with the Islamic Center, which grew into an annual event. 

The festival ended in 2017 due to funding challenges but returned in 2023 with a smaller gathering hosted by the Richmond Peace Education Center (RPEC), one of the original sponsors. RPEC has since continued to organize the festival. 

PeaceFest 2025 partnered with Third Act RVA, RVA Indivisible and other groups to host “A Day for Peace and the Planet,” which also marked the International Day of Peace and Sun Day, an event promoting clean energy. 

Richmond neighbors Chelse Williams and Jamaar Khan said they saw peace as a goal achieved through open minds and care for community and the world. 

“Supporting the people I love and care about,” Williams said. “Taking care of the Earth, of course, I continue doing my eco-friendly lifestyle as well.” 

About 40 PeaceFest attendees joined the Sun Day event on Cary Street after marching from Byrd Park. Speakers and partners there linked fossil fuels to global conflict and environmental damage, saying renewable energy can benefit both the planet and public. 

Photo by Julianne Tripp Hillian/Richmond Free Press 

Naimahya Boyd, a Virginia Commonwealth University student from Maryland, waves peace dove puppets and sings during the Global Sing for Unity at Byrd Park on Sunday, Sept. 21, as part of PeaceFest 2025.  Richmonders join hands during the “Dances of Universal Peace” at Byrd Park on Sunday, Sept. 21 as part of the event. The gathering was followed by a “Global Sing for Unity” and a march to Carytown. 

 

“Climate change has a lot to do with a lot of issues and violence,” said Richard Walker of the criminal, health and environmental justice group Bridging the Gap in Virginia, which was offering solar panel installation training opportunities during the event. “I think renewable energy will help change a lot of that.” 

Later, a panel of local community members, educators and activists gathered behind the AlterNatives clothing store to discuss building a better world. Panelists’ answers to the opening question — what peace means — were shaped by their experiences opposing political violence, war and exploitation. 

“Peace is not merely the absence of violence,” Palestinian activist Sereen Haddad said. “But more so the presence of dignity, and of justice and of freedom in general.” 

Throughout PeaceFest, speakers and attendees stressed that peace cannot be gained passively. 

“What are we doing for peace?” RPEC member Nichole McVeigh asked during the Sun Day event, inviting the crowd to attend the panel. “Because peace is not peace unless it’s action.” 

Photo by Julianne Tripp Hillian/Richmond Free Press 

Richmonders join hands during the “Dances of Universal Peace” at Byrd Park on Sunday, Sept. 21 as part of the event. The gathering was followed by a “Global Sing for Unity” and a march to Carytown.