Why a record number of Vancouver and B.C. landmarks will glow purple this weekend
If you’re wandering around Vancouver or other parts of B.C. this weekend and see landmarks glowing purple, there’s a reason, and it’s for a good cause.
There will, in fact, be a record number of landmarks glowing purple across Vancouver and the province this weekend, including parts of B.C. like Whistler and Vancouver Island.
May 10 marks World Lupus Day, and the landmarks will be glowing in solidarity and awareness of the day with the Lights for Lupus campaign.
“From Vancouver to Whistler to Vancouver Island, some of the province’s most recognizable sites will be illuminated as part of the national Lights for Lupus campaign, a highly visible effort to bring attention to a disease that often goes undiagnosed and misunderstood during Lupus Awareness month in May,” the BC Lupus Society told Daily Hive.
The society has provided a list of spots around B.C. that will be glowing, including:
- BC Place, Vancouver
- Sails of Light, Vancouver
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Vancouver Convention Centre, Vancouver
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Science World, Vancouver
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B.C. Legislature, Victoria
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Fitzsimmons Bridge, Whistler
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Port Coquitlam City Hall, Port Coquitlam
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Pinetree Way and the fountain at Lafarge Lake, Port Coquitlam
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City Hall, Maple Ridge
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The Bastion, Nanaimo
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District of Sechelt Municipal Hall, Sechelt
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Kinnaird Interchange Overpass, Castlegar
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Victoria Street Bridge, Trail
- Williams Lake City Hall, Williams Lake
According to Dr. Antonio Avina-Zubieta, Professor of Medicine and Head of Rheumatology at UBC, the disease affects one in every 1,000 Canadians and around five million people around the world.
“While lupus can affect anyone, it is most commonly diagnosed in women between the ages of 18 and 44, though children can be affected too,” Avina-Zubieta said.
How lupus works is that it causes the immune system to attack healthy organs and tissues in the body.
“If left untreated, it can lead to irreversible organ damage and premature mortality,” the society says.
“Every additional landmark lighting up purple represents another step toward making lupus visible,” said Ivana Cecic, Executive Director of the B.C. Lupus Society.
“For a disease that is so often overlooked, that visibility can make a real difference in how quickly people are diagnosed and supported.”
The B.C. Lupus Society is encouraging other businesses and individuals to take part. Businesses can light their windows and facades in purple, and individuals can wear purple.