Blog

We just finished attending the Kits Picnic in the Park community event hosted by the Kitsilano Community Center! I have to admit it was a fun time. We have done it for a few years now are always quite happy with the outcome. We see friends and clients, old and new, and get a chance to chat and see all the children. It’s a great little event run by some great people in a great community! What’s not to love!

I feel it is really important to get out and see these events that take place all over Vancouver. There are so many to choose from but if you can at least go see something in your neighbourhood I think you will be pleasantly surprised by the sense of community present.

I am a person who grew up in the country, and I sometimes crave that small town feeling of strangers unafraid to chat and smile to one another. It can feel a little cold sometimes when everyone is rushing around with their busy lives, but at these events most people are in a relaxed mood and open to having fun. It can make Vancouver feel a little more cozy and welcoming rather than a bustling city all the time.

A sense of community is a powerful thing too when it comes to mental health. Often people can feel isolated in big cities, many people come to Vancouver without having friends and family nearby so ways of meeting people you can bond with becomes an important endeavour. Events like these give you connections you may otherwise miss. Happiness is contagious too, being in positive environments can do wonders for the sense of well-being!

Positive mental health means reduced stress as well. Less stress equals less tension equals less injury which equals less pain! Therefore, more health!

All good things right? Well get out there, visit the community events around us like Kits Picnic in the Park and Point Grey Fiesta. Meet your neighbours and get that small town feel in this big city. Bring that happy attitude with you too, wherever you go, smile at strangers…you’ll be surprised at how many people smile back!

Caroline Iwasaki, RMT