Birthday celebrations have certainly taken on a whole new look amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

About two dozen decorated vehicles made their way through several local communities, honking and waving to those who came out to watch as the Airdrie Birthday Parade paid a visit to 20 boys and girls Saturday evening.

The idea builds on one that has been gaining popularity in Airdrie, Canada, and across the world. There have been many examples of community birthday parades, as well as similar parades to celebrate health care workers and for teachers to say hello and wave to their students.

Local woman Dianis Reyes started the 'Airdrie Birthday Parade' Facebook group last week and they held their first parade on Saturday, April 11 for 13 smiling kids. She says she created the group to bring joy and happiness to the community and to celebrate birthdays while at the same time thanking everyone for their commitment to stay home during these trying times.

Originally from Colombia, Reyes and her husband have called Airdrie home for almost seven years. They have three young children aged 4, 3, and 1. Like everyone, they are doing the best they can with the global health crisis and have had to make some adjustments. Reyes says Colombia is known for having big parties and gatherings to celebrate special occasions and they've now resorted to using online platforms like Zoom for parties.

But Reyes wanted to do something more for her own children, as well as the kids and seniors in the city she loves.

"We really want to encourage the kids to celebrate other people and other kids birthdays," says Reyes. "That's exactly what we told our little daughter. It was her birthday, but we need to celebrate others, do something for other kids that day too."

The plan is to hold parades each Saturday for children and seniors who have celebrated a recent birthday. Those who want to participate gather at the Home Depot parking lot prior to the start of the parade. Everyone is asked to remain in their vehicles and follow social distancing protocols.

Reyes says she's already starting to schedule routes for May and she will continue to plan the parades as long as there is demand. While she puts a lot of work in herself to connect with people and plan the routes, she says it's a community-wide effort and very collaborative.

"We are trying to get everybody in the community on board and have a lot of people singing Happy Birthday and honking," she says, adding it puts smiles on many faces.

You view some videos of the parade and find more information by joining the Airdrie Birthday Parade Facebook group HERE.

 

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