Asheville hosting Veterans for Peace convention

ASHEVILLE – A vigil, workshops and concert are among activities planned by Veterans for Peace as members of the group and their supporters gather in Asheville for the organization’s 29th annual national convention.

Several hundred people from across the U.S. and around the world are expected for the event, set for Wednesday through Sunday at UNC Asheville. Activities are open to the public.

Activities get underway Tuesday, when members of the national organization will join Asheville Veterans for Peace in the local chapter’s weekly peace vigil from 5-6 p.m. at Vance Monument at Pack Square.

“We will bring attention to the plight of homeless veterans in Asheville, with whom we will share a meal on Sunday morning,” said convention coordinator John Spitzberg, of Asheville, a leader in local chapter.

“We want peace at home as well as peace abroad, and to bring all the troops home from Afghanistan and from the 900 U.S. bases around the world. Furthermore, we insist the Veterans Administration be fully funded so it can provide prompt quality healthcare to all our veterans when they need it.”

Veterans for Peace members from the Raleigh area erected a 24-foot bell tower at Pack Square on Monday as part of the Asheville activities. The tower, created from recycled soda and beer cans, will remain at Pack Square through Sunday.

It was dedicated on Memorial Day in Raleigh “To all victims and veterans of war, regardless of race, faith, or nationality.” The tower was inspired by the words cast in bronze on the door of the World War I-era Memorial Bell Tower at N.C. State University: “And They Shall Beat Their Swords Into Plowshares.”

Veterans for Peace is a nonprofit, educational organization with a mission “to abolish war as an instrument of U.S. foreign policy.”

The group, based in St. Louis, Mo., has chapters in more than 100 U.S. cities and several chapters internationally.

For more information about the convention schedule and admission costs, visit the group’s website at veteransforpeace.org and click on the 2014 VFP National Convention tab.