EPIC flash mob hits Kenora

[Paul Murphy]

EPIC flash mob hits Kenora

By Jon Thompson

Posted 1 month ago

Tell Kenora your event is a secret and watch a thousand people come out.

A sanctioned flash mob of 675 students danced in synch to Katy Perry’s Firework, filling a block of Main Street with a sea of flailing limbs and matching pink T-shirts.

The shirts read, “E.P.I.C. Every Person Is Cool,” symbolizing a collective stand against bullying.

“They want to build community within their community, community within their schools and build community with other schools,” said Kelly Ogilvie, the Grade 5 teacher at Valleyview Public School who led organizing the event. “This was such an amazing opportunity to get together and get their message out there that they don’t want bullying on their playgrounds, they don’t want bullying in their classrooms or in their communities. Right now, they’ve built 675 friendships that all want the same thing and that’s amazing.”

Ogilvie got the idea from watching flash mob videos led by students and worked with Grades 4 to 7 at Valleyview to choreograph a dance using snippets from other videos using the same song.

Occasional teacher Mitch Kinger organized alongside Ogilvie. He videotaped the dance and sent it out to see if there was interest among other schools. He was overwhelmed by the result.

“We thought it was going to just be Valleyview School and maybe a couple of other schools could join us and then before we knew it, we had every single elementary school on board,” he explained, pointing out the elementary schools from both school boards participated. “We expected there to be some spectators but the streets were packed. It was incredible.”

Grade 4 Valleyview student Hunter Johnson was among the youngest students who practised the dance two to three times a day for over two weeks to get the moves perfect.

“We brought all these schools together, formed a flash mob and danced it out,” he said.

Pope John Paul II Grade 6 student Sha-lyn Beaucage sees a local youth culture, declaring it’s ready for a change of heart.

“We’re united. We don’t accept bullying. We don’t like bullying in our community or our schools or wherever. It’s not right.”

The mob moved on to Canadian Tire's parking lot for an encore performance.

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[Paul Murphy]