FARMINGTON — As the morning sun melted the frost Wednesday, about 40 walkers gathered in a University of Maine at Farmington parking lot on High Street to begin a Maine Veterans for Peace walk to several towns.

The 10-day walk was preceded Tuesday night with a potluck meal and celebration at Old South Church that attracted more than 100 people. Many were UMF students, said Douglas Rawlings from UMF, who was also a founding member of Maine Veterans for Peace.

Planning to walk 14.2 miles Wednesday and shuttled the rest of the way to Skowhegan, the group will gather with community members there for a meal tonight and the opportunity to “listen to people,” he said. 

The walk is intended to bring attention to the cost of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and to returning war veterans. The 128-mile walk from Farmington to Skowhegan, to Waterville, Bangor, Belfast, Rockland, Bath, Freeport and Portland will end on Nov. 11 as the walkers join Portland’s Veterans Day parade.

People are welcome to join the walk for an hour, a day or for the whole trip, organizer Bruce Gagnon of Bath said previously. A core group, including members of the Nipponzan Myohoji order of  Buddhist Monks, will make the entire trek.

Sara and Jonas Bobson of Farmington joined the walk Wednesday along with their 2-year-old daughter, Lucy, nestled from the cold in her stroller. Sara said they felt it was important to join the walk and use their bodies to get the message out. It is also not too early for Lucy to learn, she said.

Last week, Gagnon said the walk was intended to bring attention to the war, its costs, returning veterans and what could become a lack of financial security for the country and future generations.

Information on the schedule is posted at vfpmaine.org/vfp.htm.

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