Where to see the Buddhist monks’ Walk for Peace in Columbia, SC on Saturday
The Buddhist monks traveling across South Carolina on a Walk for Peace will appear in downtown Columbia on Saturday afternoon.
At previous stops in South Carolina, the group of two dozen Buddhist monks have followed a familiar routine in interacting with their supporters.
But in a Facebook post Friday night, the monks said they would avoid having public visitation during their daily lunch stop before noon, due to limited parking at the undisclosed location.
Instead, the monks will participate in two “peace gatherings” on Saturday. One will gather on the West Columbia side of the Gervais Street bridge at 2 p.m. The group and supporters will then walk into Columbia to the south steps of the State House from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m., according to local non-profit Be the Ones.
As part of the State House gathering, the monks will be presented with a city proclamation by Mayor Daniel Rickenmann and a state proclamation by state Sen. Deon Tedder.
The next overnight stop on the journey had not been confirmed Friday night. The live map of the journey can be seen on Walk for Peace website.
Since they set out Oct. 26, the Walk for Peace has become a social media sensation, partly based on the appeal of the monks’ rescue dog, Aloka the Peace Dog, who has traveled with them the entire way. Large crowds have gathered to greet the monks every stop of the way, and will doubtless do the same in South Carolina’s capital city.
On Friday night, visitor parking at Tom’s Den on Augusta Road just outside Lexington filled up shortly after 4 p.m., hours before the monks had actually arrived at their overnight stop.
The Walk for Peace entered South Carolina from Georgia on Monday, more than two months after the monks left from their home temple in Forth Worth, Texas. The monks have walked more than 1,500 of the 2,300 miles they intend to travel to Washington, D.C. So far, the group has traveled across six states and Columbia will be the fifth state capital the monks have visited.
From the Savannah River, the Walk for Peace has spent a week going across McCormick, Edgefield and Saluda counties before the trek passed through Lexington on Friday. After visiting Columbia, the monks will turn north on their way to the nation’s capital, passing through Rock Hill on the way into North Carolina early next week.
.jpg)