Event Ideas – Purple Day

Write to your federal government officials

Ask to have March 26 officially recognized in your country. Canada is the only country to have passed the Purple Day Act and March 26 is officially recognized throughout Canada as Purple Day.

Plan a Walk or Hike

Wear as much purple as you can and do a 5km walk or run in your community. If you’re collecting pledges, donate to your local agency.

Gala

Plan a signature event and raise corporate dollars to support local agencies and promote awareness. (Epilepsy Association of The Maritimes in Canada).

Ask your local politicians to wear purple ribbons at their March meetings.

Your local agencies can provide the ribbons and ask them to provide a photo. Upload to your Facebook page and send the photo to your local agency for their website so all community members know their representatives support those living with epilepsy.

Flag Raising

Purchase a Purple Day flag and have your local town raise it on Purple Day. You can purchase a flag from the Epilepsy Association of the Maritimes or contact The Purple Day Team for information on how to get your local printer to make one for you.

Purple Day Bake Sale

Bake up some purple-coloured sweets and have a bake sale at your school or office! Raise awareness and fundraise with tasty treats everyone can enjoy. And, get your local bakery involved with The Great Purple Cupcake Project!

Coffee House / Concert

Organize a Purple Day benefit concert. Invite your friends and family, classmates or coworkers and the public at large to a night of music, tasty appetizers (ask your local restaurant or pub to donate the food) and plenty of PURPLE.

View example of Coffee House poster.

View example of Concert Poster.

Information Booth

Set up an epilepsy information station at your workplace or local community centre. Download Purple Day materials from the Media page or create your own. Contact events@purpleday.org if you have questions.

View a sample information booth ad.

Proclamation Celebration

Did your city or town receive a Purple Day Proclamation from a local politician? Why not host a party where the official proclamation can be read and celebrated.

School or Work Contest

Organize a contest to get your colleagues involved in Purple Day. Host a poster colouring contest at school or a purple costume contest at your work place. The most purple wins!

View example of colouring contest flyer.

Silent Auction

Plan a silent auction to raise epilepsy awareness and help your local epilepsy organization. Don’t have a local organization? Help our global Purple Day sponsor – Epilepsy Association of The Maritimes in Canada.

Tour of public places

Take your passion for purple on the road and get crews wearing purple to distribute information at local malls, libraries, coffee shops, etc.

Lecture / Public Presentation

Invite local doctors, professors or epilepsy advocates to talk about the importance of epilepsy awareness and Purple Day. Host the event for free at a public venue. Be sure to save time for a question/answer forum at the end of your event.

View sample flyer.

Purple Retail Promotion

Get your favourite store to host a Purple Day event promoting purple merchandise and give discounts to customers decked out in purple. Or, get main street shops to do their March window displays in purple!

Bunny Hop

Get your local daycare or kindergarten in the Purple Day spirit with a Bunny Hop! Before the event, children and staff can ask friends, family, and other community minded people to sponsor them in their Bunny Hop for Epilepsy. Since one in every one hundred people will develop epilepsy, many groups choose to do one hundred hops (all at once or over the course of the day). Play music, dress in purple and serve purple-coloured treats. And remember: Any bunny can have epilepsy, so help spread the word!
Contact events@purpleday.org for a Bunny Hop for Epilepsy kit (includes invitations, sponsor forms, participant forms, games and more!).

Purple Day Dance-A-Thon

Host a Purple Day Dance-A-Thon at your local college, university or community center. Have dancers get sponsored for every hour danced, collect donations and provide information about epilepsy. Add a local band, donated treats and drinks, and/or a guest speaker and make your event a huge success. For more information and tools to host your own dance-a-thon, please contact events@purpleday.org.

For more great purplelicious ideas for children, please visit Kidactivities.