1000 Acts of Kindness to be recorded throughout 2019 festival with multiple moments for participation
PROVIDENCE, RI – PVDFest has always brought communities together and welcomed visitors to the City of Providence. Inspired by Mayor Elorza’s City of Kindness initiative launched this past January, this year’s festival will debut Providence’s first-ever 1,000 Acts of Kindness challenge. Attendees will be inspired to perform a total of 1,000 acts of kindness throughout the festival weekend, helping to spread positivity and foster compassion in their individual communities.
“PVDFest is about bringing people from around the corner and across the globe right into the heart of Downtown Providence, where they feel a part of something bigger than themselves,” said Mayor Jorge Elorza. “This year, I want to push participants to think about the way they interact with one another, with their neighbors and within our community here in Providence.”
Building off Mayor Elorza’s City of Kindness initiative, the 1,000 Acts of Kindness challenge aims to inspire kind gestures amongst festival participants and prompt them to think about what kindness means to them. Curated by the Kindness Crew at the Juanita Sanchez Educational Complex, kindness kiosks will be located throughout the festival footprint recording reported acts. PVDFest is also working with Kindness.org in NYC, to provide kind festival goers a national platform to display their kindness. Participants will be encouraged to explore ways to make Providence a kinder community and share them on social media during the four-day event.
In year’s past, PVDFest has curated moments that encourage a sense of community in festival goers. In 2017, a community dinner was held where 300 people broke bread and enjoyed a meal together in Kennedy Plaza. Last year, over 500 couples attempted to break the Guinness World Record for the most couples dancing a choreographed dance.
This year, continuing the Providence tradition of wishing the children at Hasbro Hospital goodnight known as Good Night Lights, Mayor Elorza will introduce the first-ever Citywide Good Night Lights happening on Thursday night (June 6). After the Citywide Bike Ride which will end at Hot Club, festival goers will flash lights across the river to bring the festival to the patients who view from their windows. Regardless of location, people across the city are encouraged to also participate and record their act of kindness using the #1000ActsPVD. Each participant will be counted towards this year’s 1000 Acts of Kindness initiative.
On Sunday of the festival, the PVD Young Makers initiative will lead teams of youth with Fab Newport to imagine and prototype solutions to education, health, transportation, recreation and other community needs through the lens of “Making a Kinder Providence.” They will present their ideas to a panel of local leaders, sponsors, mentors, and the public at Providence City Hall at 2:30PM.
Festival goers are encouraged to use social media to display their acts of kindness by using the hashtag #1000ActsPVD. Be on the lookout for additional details on how to participate in the 1,000 Acts of Kindness Challenge on PVDFest social media or visit www.pvdfest.com.