(1,2,3) 'Heaven' with the Remo Drum Circle honor the Sea with a sacred dance during the  closing ceremony of the World Festival of Sacred Music at Santa Monica Beach on Sunday, September 28, 2008. (4) Halau Keali'i O Nalani honor the Sea with a sacred Hawaiian dance. (5) Members of Viver Brasil honor the Sea with flowers. (6,7) Haize Rosen  and Justin Ayres, 39,  from  Viver Brasil honor the Sea  during the closing ceremony.   --  About three hundred artists  presented sacred traditions from seven lineages of world cultures. The opening procession  resounded with the festive sounds of the brass Banda Juvenil Solaga from Oaxaca and the Pasadena Scottish Pipes and Drums ensemble. One hundred dancers led by Keali’i Ceballos and Sissy Kaio chanted and danced on the sands in reverence of Kanaloa, the Hawaiian deity of the ocean. Swing Brazil welcomed their guests Viver Brasil, Capoeira Batuque, Seara de Caridade do Cabolo Tupinamba and the Elders of the Diaspora and lead  in celebration of Yemanja, the Afro-Brazilian sea goddess. Drummers and dancers from Burkina Faso led by Olivier Tarpaga and DAFRA will payed homage to the Yuroba Orisha. Playing a central role is Cindi Alvitre and Ti’at Society. The traditional canoe of the Tongva, wass paddled beyond the breakwaters, carrying the offerings to the sea and sacred blessings to the four corners of the Earth, guided by energy of the Agape Choir and the rhythms of Remo Drum Circle facilitated by Christine Stevens.

Santa Monica Welcomes its newest Italian Sister City: Sant'Elia Fiumerapido-Cassino (1,2,3) Santa Monica Mayor Herb Katz (left) and President of Prov. Frosinone, Italy Francesco Scalia (right), sign proclamations making Sant'Elia Fiumerapido-Cassino (Italy) Santa Monica's newest Sister City during a Signing Induction Ceremony at City Hall on Thursday, August 21, 2008. Mayor Katz and President Scalia exchange gifts during the induction ceremony. (4) Santa Monica Sister City President Joseph Deering (left) and Sant'Elia Fiumerapido-Cassino Sister City President Dr. ssa Luisa Grossi sign a resolution establishing an international friendship relationship between the Sister City Associations of Sant'Elia Fiumerapido-Cassino, Italy and Santa Monica, California, USA during a Signing Ceremony at City Hall on Thursday, (5) The Sister City Delegates from Italy and California pose for a group portrait in front of Santa Monica City Hall. Santa Monica's other three sister cities are Mazatlan, Mexico; Hamm, Germany and Fujinomiya, Japan. The mission of Sister City is to develop international friendships fulfilling President Dwight D. Eisenhower's dream of "citizen diplomats" establishing peace with "people -to-people" contacts between countries. Educating young people in the cultural, academic and family life of other countries, and through exchanges create better understanding and mutual respect. Fostering appreciation of the beauty and uniqueness of other cultures through the media of their art, music, dance and literature. Encouraging youth to understand other people and their customs through the universal medium of sports and games and stimulating dialogue at the people-to-people level about commerce, science, politics and human relations as they affect us all in an increasingly global environment.

Zimbabwe international music legend, Oliver Mtukudzi performs  at the Santa Monica Pier during the 24th Annual Twilight Dance Series on Thursday, August 7, 2008. Mtukudzi's has composed forty six original albums (nearly all of them best-sellers) and his career has spanned twenty six years. The Twilight Dance Series is presented by Amoeba Music.