“Climb on board; practise positive actions!”
Town Crier George Sims said it succinctly at last week’s informational event outlining plans for the 12 Days of Positivity coming to Chatham-Kent in September.
For the third straight year, good vibrations will be flowing through the municipality, and for the second straight, those vibes will run over a dozen days.
Darrin Canniff, who started Positivity Day back in 2016, said it all revolves around focusing on positive actions throughout the municipality.
The 12 days, from Sept. 2 to 13, include Neighbour Day, Service Club Day, Seniors Day, First Responders Day, Not-For-Profit Day, Support Your Local Business Day, Discover Your Community Day, Agriculture Day, Educators/Instructors Day, Environment Day and Positivity Day.
For one lucky person, the positivity will spill over with a $10,000 prize package.
Local media outlets will take qualifiers for one of 444 seats in the balcony of the Chatham Capitol Theatre, the site of the Positivity touch down Sept. 13. One person in those seats will be chosen for a $5,000 travel certificate from Vellinga’s Travel, and $5,000 in cash from Mainstreet Credit Union.
Capt. Positive, a key figurehead for Positivity Day in C-K, said finding the good in people is quite simple.
“We’re looking for people in Chatham-Kent doing positive things. We go out and celebrate the positivity that people do,” he said. “We want Chatham-Kent to be the most positive place in the world.”
TekSavvy this year is the prime sponsor of the 12 Days of Positivity. Marvin Handsor, product marketing manager for TekSavvy, said it makes sense for the company to help promote positivity in C-K.
“TekSavvy is a very positive place to work,” he said. “Is there a better way to share that positive vibe with the community? We want to help amplify that message of positivity.”
Canniff said over last year’s dozen days of positivity, there were between 70 and 80 events. This year, that number could top 100. That includes more free lunches.
Brian Machado and the Chatham Armoury put on a free lunch where about 500 people showed up last year. He’ll do it again this year, but there will also be free lunches in Wallaceburg, Dresden, Ridgetown and Blenheim, with the help from CKXS FM.
Particularly positive kids will get a special reward this year, according to Capt. Positive.
“Every once in a while we bump into a special child that is vibrating with positivity. We will have superhero capes for them this year,” he said.
