Peace Festival gathering in Washington

WASHINGTON, Aug. 9 (UPI) -- Thousands of people were expected for the Global Peace Festival on the Mall in Washington.

The gathering is part of a series of events that most recently included a meeting in Paraguay and featured children from more than 70 schools. The next is set for Nairobi and is to focus on people whose relatives were killed in election-related violence there.

The Washington gathering Saturday included a day of service in the District of Columbia in which about 1,000 volunteers helped in a food drive.

In a release, organizers said they hoped for "1 million acts of service and kindness" to stem from the event.

Some of the sponsors of the Global Peace Festival are affiliated with the Rev. Sun Myung Moon-founded Unification Church. He is also founder of News World Communications Inc., which owns United Press International.