Penticton

Children and seniors participated in a flash mob at the Cherry Lane Shopping Centre, a police officer paid a visit to the boys and girls club and people at city hall wore pink.

It was all part of celebrating Pink Shirt Day in Penticton on Wednesday.

Photo: Contributed

Participants in flash mob at the mall

“It’s important to focus on Pink Shirt Day, because it’s good to have a day when we all stick up for each other,” said Jacob Gans, a 10-year-old who goes to the boys and girls club. “It should be like that every day.”

The day, which started as a protest against a bullying incident at a high school in Nova Scotia, is celebrated on the last Wednesday in February in this country. Participants wear pink to take a stand against bullying.

There was much excitement at Cherry Lane, as a group of seniors from Summerland Seniors Village joined students from  Summerland Middle School and the Penticton Boys and Girls Club for a flash mob.

The dance held in front of London Drugs was to let people know seniors support anti-bullying initiatives, said Sharon Lusch, marketing coordinator for the seniors village.

“We want to let people know they can talk to seniors because they have lived a long life, and we thought it would be great to show that we also take a stand against bullying against seniors,” she said.

Const. Ryan Harris with the Penticton RCMP stopped by the boys and girls club with his police dog Elroy.

In addition to inviting children to pat the 10-week-old German shepherd and sit in his police car, he talked about what the day is about, his job and experiences being bullied as a child.

“If you get picked on, it’s good to talk to your parents or the workers here,” he said. “And when you think about it as police officers we are dealing with bullies, just big bullies who have grown up.”

The club has focused on anti-bullying efforts for much of February.

Photo: Deborah Pfeiffer

Cst. Ryan Harris speaks at boys and girls club

Staff sold t-shirts that said 'Bullying Stops Here, I’m making a difference”.

“We had a ton of people come in and even sold out of our adult t-shirts,” said area director Jennifer Anderson, who oversees programs from Summerland down to Osoyoos. “So momentum seems to be increasing and an awareness of what bullying looks like.”

Children in the after-school program made anti-bullying videos and pink t-shirt cookies and played games on the subject.

“It’s not just a day, it’s a year-long thing, because the goal of the club is to make sure all kids are safe and happy,” said program coordinator Westley Harbinson.