It’s time to start making plans for what are expected to be a nationwide series of antiwar protests from March 18 to March 20 to mark the second anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. The antiwar coalition United for Peace & Justice is calling for vigils, rallies, marches, nonviolent civil disobedience and creative expressions of antiwar sentiment of all kinds.

As UFPJ reports, last year on the first anniversary of the invasion, there were at least 319 antiwar events in cities and towns across the United States. This month, they’re looking to increase that number after a disastrous year of continued body counts and billions of dollars wasted on an illegal and immoral occupation.

In the coming days, we’ll be highlighting some of the many grassroots, antiwar efforts taking place on March 19th. Today, I’d like to thank Nation reader and bassist Brandon Kwiatek for alerting us to what’s happening in the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania where his acoustic duo Real West will stage a free concert at Bethlehem Book Loft & The Caffeine Café from 8:00 to 10:00pm. The concert, called War is a Wonderful Thing: An Evening of Dissent, will be the culmination of a series of antiwar vigils and rallies scheduled across the Lehigh Valley that day.

In the interest of promoting solidarity within the Lehigh Valley progressive movement, Kwiatek writes, a number of local organizations will participate or distribute information during the concert: Bill of Rights Defense Committee (Bethlehem); Progressive Students Alliance (chapters from Lehigh University and Northampton Community College); LEPOCO Peace Center; Moravian College’s chapter of Amnesty International-USA.

Watch this space for more info on antiwar events around the country, click here to let us know about any events, and check out the UFPJ website for a complete calendar of nationwide happenings.