For my tie-dye party, I made the poster and promoted it at South Vancouver Neighbourhood House, on social media and at various events, including the Riverside Street Vibe and our Family team’s annual Fun Fair. I started promoting a month in advance and mostly relied on my co-worker and friend Cherry Wong to assist me in the planning and implementation of the event. I bought all the supplies a week before, including tie dye kits, snacks, water, plastic tablecloths, gloves, white hair scrunchies and white t-shirts.
The event was held at Gordon Park, near 49th and Commercial St., next to the baseball diamond. Some people registered beforehand, and some people showed up without registering. However, we had enough snacks and supplies for everyone. Originally, on the poster, I wrote for people to bring their own white clothes; however, I realized I could buy bulk shirts and hair scrunchies for cheap on Amazon, so I purchased enough for the group and emailed them in advance to let them know I would be providing some clothes, but they are still welcome to bring their own if they want to.
Near the final 30 minutes of the event, there were some shirts still available, so I walked around the park until I found two kids who were hanging out with their mother in the shade and invited them to join. Many of the participants are new to Canada. Two families are from Colombia, one person came from Korea, and one woman is from India. It was really cool to see this event bring together so many diverse people from all over the world but also different age groups. Our youngest participant was five years old, and the oldest was a senior citizen. Overall, this project made me realize how easy it is to spread good cheer and give people something fun to do right in their neighbourhood.