Mall of America's calendar has a new entry for August 6: the Peace Chain - Grande Connection, a free public beading event running 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Huntington Bank Rotunda.
The date isn't random. August 6 marks Hiroshima Peace Memorial Day, and the project traces back to TOHO Beads, a glass bead maker founded in Hiroshima after World War II to, as the company puts it, bring color back into the world. The Peace Ring Project began in 2015 as a way to link handmade beaded rings from beaders worldwide into a single chain.
This year's push, tied to the 80th anniversary of the war's end, is a joint effort between the Upper Midwest Bead Society, TOHO Beads, the Japanese Beading Association, TeamTOHO and Lotus Beads & Jewelry. The goal: stitch together a full mile of beaded rings, with Japanese participants attaching their portion of the chain at 1 p.m. during an official measurement.
Getting there has meant months of prep work. The Upper Midwest Bead Society has been hosting free Wednesday workshops at Lotus Beads running through August 6, and beaders anywhere can mail finished rings to a Bloomington address or post progress on social media, where TOHO Beads has pledged to donate yen to a Hiroshima peace charity for each tagged post.
At the mall itself, there's no cost to join in. Organizers say guests can expect to sit down and bead with creatives of all experience levels, whether that means tying on a completed ring, reinforcing the chain, or just documenting the day. Anyone who wants to help with setup can sign up as a volunteer through a form linked on the event page.