100 in 1 Day Vancouver, An International Festival of Citizen Action

This citizen-driven festival will unite people across the city to make Vancouver a better place by creating acts of urban change.

Inspired by Bogotá, Cape Town, Copenhagen, Montreal and others, Vancouver will host “100 in 1 Day” on June 7th, 2014. This festival celebrates active citizenship by inviting the residents of Metro Vancouver to create 100 urban interventions in a single day. The citizens will initiate, plan, organize and host their own urban interventions, which will provide opportunities to have fun, build community and showcase ideas for a better city.

First held in Bogotá, Columbia in 2012, 100 in 1 Day quickly became an international phenomenon, with successful implementations in several major cities on different continents. Canada is joining the celebrations in force this year, with Vancouver, Toronto, Halifax, and Montreal all hosting the event on the same day.

In Vancouver, the event is being facilitated by Evergreen, which is helping the citizens bring their intervention ideas to life. “Vancouver has a lot of great grassroots movements happening across the city,” says Robyn Chan, Volunteer Coordinator at Evergreen. “We see 100 in 1 Day as a chance to connect the great work happening across the city, and as a way to encourage citizens to take ownership in improving Vancouver.”

On Saturday, June 7, people of all ages and stripes will come together to carry out their urban interventions. What is an urban intervention? It can be almost anything: markings on buildings to warn of rising seas; transit ice-breakers; playful photo booths, and more.

Cheryl Cheeks, creator and curator of the Dude Chilling Art Exchange, is also an intervention leader for 100 in 1 Day, and she wants her intervention to help people be more open to strangers: “I want to create a safe place for people to feel free to come engage strangers in conversation. My team and I are excited to see who accepts our invitation to stop and chat at our table in Dude Chilling Park.”

Her intervention and others are listed on the 100 in 1 Day Vancouver website. From placemaking to community art projects, the event promises to be a catalyst for citizen participation and grassroots planning initiatives in Vancouver.

Currently there are 66 interventions planned, the majority are in being held in Vancouver. Some of the inteventions taking place:

Giving out chocolates
Free Hugs
House in the park
Small social parklet at Hastings and Hornby
Pop-up Picnic with a 30 foot piano on site

For more information visit http://100in1day.ca/vancouver,

Free Hugs via Shutterstock