PRESS RELEASE:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 14, 2009

Honor King's Legacy, Stop the War (s), YES, WE CAN!
PEACE TRAIN, RALLY, AND PARADE PLANNED FOR PHILADELPHIA JANUARY 17
Same day as Obama Whistle-Stop Train, Philadelphia - Washington, DC Inaugural Train Trip

A Peace Train, Rally, and Parade on Saturday, January 17, is planned by United for Peace & Justice - Delaware Valley Network (UFPJ-DVN) in conjunction with the Martin Luther King Day holiday weekend, and President-elect Barack Obama’s Whistle-Stop Train Launch from the AMTRAK 30th Street Station (exact time still awaiting announcement) in Philadelphia for an Inaugural Train to Washington, DC.

The Peace Train, organized by the regional Coalition for Peace Action (CFPA) with 18 chapters in central and southern New Jersey and southeastern Pennsylvania, will begin at 7:58 AM at the West Trenton SEPTA Station located at Grand Avenue (Route 579) and Railroad Avenue in Ewing, NJ. Carpooling to the station will leave at 7:00 AM from the Princeton Shopping Center (Rite Aid end) at 7:00 AM, to arrive at the Station at 7:30 AM for a pre-boarding Rally there.

The Peace Train will make a stop in Langhorne, PA, at 8:09 AM, where CFPA is also having a group boarding. Scheduled arrival at Suburban Station in Central Philadelphia is 9:00 AM

A coffee and refreshments reception at William Way Center, 1315 Spruce Street in Philadelphia, will start at 9:00 AM. At approximately 10:00 AM, a Peace Rally will be held indoors at William Way Center. Speakers will include the Rev. Robert Moore, CFPA Executive Director; Celeste Zappala, mother of a soldier killed in Iraq; John Braxton, a trade union leader; and Bob Smith of the Brandywine Peace Community.

At approximately 10:45 AM, a colorful Peace Parade will leave William Way Center toward 30th Street Station, where President-Elect Obama’s Whistle Stop Inaugural Train will have a launch event. There will be banners, posters, and chanting as part of the Peace Parade. There will be a brief rally stop at the west side of Philadelphia City Hall, 15th & Market streets, before feeding into the Obama Train launch.

The theme of all the events is "Honor King's Legacy, End the War (s), Yes We Can!" While celebrating the hopes of a new period in U.S. politics, the rally and parade for peace will call for: an end to the U.S. policy of war and occupation in Iraq and Afghanistan; unconditional ceasefire by all sides in Gaza; reordering Federal priorities away from war and military spending to human needs—including universal health care for all—and toward an economic recovery plan that emphasizes the needs of our communities.

For further information about the Peace Train, Rally, and Parade, contact the Coalition for Peace Action, web site www.peacecoalition.org or phone 609-924-5022.

The overall peace rally and parade sponsor, United for Peace & Justice - Delaware Valley Network, includes: the Brandywine Peace Community, Catholic Peace Fellowship, Coalition for Peace Action, Philadelphia Granny Peace Brigade, Northwest Greens, Penn Action, U.S. Labor Against the War, Veterans for Peace, and other peace, community, religious, veterans, and environmental groups.

Coalition for Peace Action, Princeton, NJ
609-924-5022 - email: cfpa@peacecoalition.org