Windows around Tumbler Ridge are being decorated with hearts and eggs.
During this time of isolation, people are looking for creative ways to connect with others.
The message sent out by the hearts mean different things to different people. For some, it is a way to show unity. For others, it is a way to get people outside and exploring the community in a way that honours social isolation.
There are even prizes being offered for finding the hearts. The Tumbler Ridge Chamber of Commerce has created a “Tumbler Ridge Businesses Have Heart” campaign.
Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Jerrilyn Schembri says “If you are walking around town and see one of these Tumbler Ridge Businesses have Heart posters on the window of a local business…please head to the to the Tumbler Ridge Chamber of Commerce Facebook page (www.facebook.com/tumblerchamber/) and look for the “Tumbler Ridge Businesses have Heart” post at the top of the page. Then post something positive about the business where you saw it.”
If you don’t see one of these hearts on the window, or aren’t able to get out, Schembri says you can still participate. “Just say something positive about one of the local businesses,” she says. “In times like these, we all need encouragement and our local businesses are there for us: this includes the District of Tumbler Ridge, Community Centre, contractors, artists, all of the shops in the industrial and light industrial areas, library, etc.”
She says that many of businesses are struggling right now. “Lets tell them why we appreciate them!!! If you comment on the post on the Tumbler Ridge Chamber of Commerce page, your name will be entered into a draw for some gift certificates! Please take the time to encourage our businesses!”
Elsewhere, people are posting eggs in their windows. This is part of a worldwide campaign. But with gatherings of more than 50 people not allowed, the Lions have cancelled their annual Easter Egg hunt.
But all is not lost, thanks to one cunning Tumbler Ridge resident.
“I saw a comment where people were disappointed about not having an Easter egg hunt,” says Maxine VanBrabant. “The heart in the window campaign gave me the idea. Because of our small population and all the trails around the area, my husband and I were still able to get fresh air and exercise and still maintain self-isolation and social distancing. Because we rarely see anyone in our walks around town, and nobody on the trails we hiked, the egg hunt seemed like a good way to give people something to do with their kids while still knowing it’s unlikely to run into someone.”
So VanBrabant did up 22 eggs and 16 Easter chicks and/or bunnies, which she has placed alongside Tumbler Ridge’s in town trails. “Each of the eggs, bunnies and chicks have a message,” she says. “Either happy thoughts: smile; Have fun, or things to do with other people while still being self-isolated, like call and talk to a distant friend or relative or tell someone you love them, to games or actions to do right them, upon locating the egg: jump on one foot; name the rabbit, or to do when the current searcher gets home: make a collage; write a story. The idea behind that is to get kids interested in what they will need to do when they find one, and parents and kids to have ideas to take home for hours of entertainment later.”
VanBrabant lives on the upper bench, so there’s more to be found there, but not all of them. “The eggs are spread out from around the Saddle Club to the golf course to the head of the trail on Bergeron and everywhere in between,” she says.
