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A Coquitlam woman is calling on all Tri-City residents under isolation to step out into their backyards and on to their porches and balconies Wednesday to celebrate a massive party.
In what Kyla McLeod is calling a “Tri-Cities Porch Party,” the idea is to get out Wednesday, March 25 from 5 to 6 p.m. in what’s forecast to be the last day of sun this week.
“I’m just trying to see the positive in getting though this,” said the mother of five, who said she’s looking to balance the global sense of “doom and gloom” surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic with a little bit of entertainment and empathy.
“You see the ‘Stay the F*** home’ on social media. It’s not a very uplifting message,” she said from self-quarantine, adding she's sympathetic with what that message is trying to accomplish. “[I'm] just trying to get people out and wave to your neighbour, call someone who is alone.”
Part of McLeod’s inspiration came from the videos coming out of Italy and Spain, where people locked inside sing to each other from their balconies. The loud round of applause Vancouver residents recently shouted out to frontline health care workers at shift change also stimulated her to act.
Thanks for having our backs, health care and front-line workers. #Vancouver pic.twitter.com/2V6YPoIb4c
— Paul Nixey (@paulnixey) March 25, 2020
When McLeod looks around her neighbourhood on Burke Mountain, she said everyone has a porch but still, “People are lonely.”
“Just get out and do it," she said.
Share your photos and videos from today's Tri-Cities Porch Party through your favourite social media channel using the hashtag #tricitiesporchparty.
Read more of our COVID-19 coverage here.