About 500 people turned out this afternoon for a PeaceAble Cities Evanston walk and talk timed to coincide with the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.
The group gathered at the Dar-us-Sunnah Masjid and Community Center at 2045 Brown Ave., where center members set out tables of food.
With a line of marchers stretching for nearly a half mile, they then walked about 2.3 miles to the Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation of Evanston at 303 Dodge Ave.
Organizers asked participants to change walking partners every few minutes to encourage fresh conversations during the walk — and handed out different colored paper dots to help walkers spot people from other wards across the city.
The PeaceAble Cities group says its mission is to stimulate efforts to promote respect and prevent violence in the community with a goal of a completely peaceable city by 2020.