THE fourth annual Pay It Forward Kindness Festival runs in Limerick from this Saturday, March 10 to 17 with a number of free events and activities designed to highlight the kindness in every part of Limerick City.
The festival week will kick off with a Family Fun Day this Saturday on Bedford Row. From 11am to 2pm there will be face painting, children’s crafts, printmaking, animal petting, music, medical and physiotherapy consultations, kayaking on the River Shannon and a few more surprises for all to enjoy.
Then from Sunday March 11 to Friday March 15, Community Unity Days have been organised to encourage volunteers, local businesses and locals to carry out intentional acts of kindness. These will include gestures such as children baking buns and delivering them to the unsung heroes of the community, handing out flowers on Mother’s Day, showing the Pay It Forward movie, free pampering and massage and talks at local schools.
People who benefit from these acts of kindness will then be encouraged to carry it on in return to someone else, creating the ripple effect.
According to Limerick Pay It Forward spokesperson Niamh Murphy, the festival is intended harnesses the positive momentum and energy of carrying out kind acts.
“Our aim is to create a ripple effect that will develop into a wave of kindness where people will continue to carry out acts of kindness throughout the rest of the year,” she explained.
“We’ve arranged a series of interactive experiential activities — where kids, families, people from all backgrounds can get involved and enjoy the opportunity to slow down, have the space to be together and embrace kindness.”
For more details visit www.pifl.ie.
by Alan Jacques
