Celebrating Canada’s 150th
With a picnic on the Q...
If you love anniversaries, picnics and Canada, Heart Niagara is looking for you.
The organization, in celebration of its 40th anniversary and Canada’s 150th, will host a fundraiser next month on Queen Street called Picnic on the Q.
The event, scheduled for June 8 between 5:30 p.m. and 8 p.m., is intended to bring the community together in a cheerful picnic atmosphere while supporting local businesses, building relationships, encouraging healthy eating and physical activity.
Guests of Picnic on the Q can either bring a packed dinner or order food from a local Queen Street restaurant.
Heart Niagara’s goal is to sell enough tickets to connect 150 white picnic tables together and arrange them into the letter C surrounding city hall in honour of Canada’s sesquicentennial.
Everyone seated at the tables will receive a red napkin which will be waved during an aerial photo.
“I think the more we can get the word out and certainly appeal to people’s sense of community, this should not be a problem,” said Karen Stearne, Heart Niagara’s executive director.
“If you look at groups of people that get together, or service clubs, or groups of friends who just like to go out for a night, they can come out and celebrate living in Niagara and also eat together. I think it’s a real opportunity for us to meet other people in our community (and) to celebrate how great it is to be a Canadian.”
Stearne said the idea came from a Heart Niagara volunteer who was out of town and saw a similar picnic.
The volunteer brought the idea to her colleagues.
“Picnic on the Q is a thoughtful approach to making our community stronger. Eating together unites and acquaints people of all ages,” said Stearne.
“Through this event, Heart Niagara will encourage support of local businesses while inspiring community relationships, healthy eating and physical activity. We’re building a movement to help make our community stronger, healthier and more active.”
Net proceeds will go to support Heart Niagara’s 2018 Guinness World Records application for the longest table.
Tickets for a Picnic on the Q are $25 per person, or $120 for a table that includes picnic seating for six-to-eight people and table covering.
Guests will also enjoy live entertainment, a chance to win a 50/50 raffle, and play zones with activities for all ages.
Heart Niagara is seeking 20 event-day volunteers, sponsorship and donations for swag bags.
“We’re going to have traditional picnic games, so for the young and old, and the young at heart,” said Stearne.
“There will be a gift bag on each table, which has things from our community that have been donated.”
All volunteers will receive complimentary Canada 150 t-shirts. For more information and to purchase Picnic on the Q tickets, call 905-358-5552, ext. 114, email info@heartniagara.com, or visit heartniagara.com.
This year, Heart Niagara is celebrating 40 years of providing community based cardiovascular health services, health promotion and community development.
The organization has grown its programs to reach Niagara residents in schools, at work and throughout the community.