BC PLACE LIT “PURPLE” TO SUPPORT EPILEPSY AWARENESS DAY
March 21st, 2012
March 21, 2012
Vancouver, BC: The 36-foot tall Northern Lights Display plus 10 acres of roof atop BC Place will be illuminated “purple” on Monday, March 26 for Epilepsy awareness.
BC Place joins Vancouver Real Housewife Mary Zilba, Urban Rush’s Fiona Forbes and Purple Day Ambassadors throughout the province going purple for epilepsy awareness.
“PURPLE” LIGHTING DISPLAY FOR EPILEPSY AWARENESS DAY
Date:
Monday, March 26, 2012
Times:
MORNING 5:30AM to Sunrise
EVENING Sunset to 11:00PM
March 26th is Purple Day- an international grassroots effort dedicated to increasing awareness about epilepsy worldwide. The day was created in 2008 by 9 year old Cassidy Megan to end the fear of being alone as a child with epilepsy. In 2012, people in dozens of countries on all continents including Antarctica will be participating in Purple Day!
As the mother of a child with epilepsy, Mary Zilba has experienced firsthand the fears, stigma and misbeliefs associated with epilepsy that are confirmed in the recent 2011 Leger Marketing study The Impact of Epilepsy on Canadians. “Children are afraid when they witness a seizure; they don’t understand what is happening. Purple Day is the perfect opportunity for children to learn about epilepsy” says Mary Zilba.
Mary Zilba is a Purple Day Ambassador calling upon everyone who has been touched by epilepsy “to get involved in this global campaign”. President of the Canadian Epilepsy Alliance Gail Dempsey believes that “Together, we must strive to eliminate stigma through greater public education, expect and demand social supports, and ensure better access to treatment options for seizure control”.
About the “Northern Lights Display” at BC Place
The stadium roof façade – known as the Northern Lights Display - utilizes 1700 ‘ETFE’ panels, stacked four rows high, and 6,800 linear feet of energy-efficient LED lights to create customizable lighting displays. ETFE is a semi-transparent material that allows sunlight into the stadium during the day, but it also contains metal dots called “frits” that reflect the LED light displays at night. Together with the new 38,000 square metre roof at BC Place roof, the Northern Lights Display enables a wide range of both static and dynamic programming, with a total of more than 26,000 addressable lighting elements. Visit www.bcplace.com/roof-lights for more information.
About BC Place
BC Place is the largest sports, exhibition and entertainment venue of its kind in British Columbia, hosting the province’s most notable events including the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games. An all-new BC Place reopened in September 2011 after completing a major revitalization that included the installation of the largest cable-supported retractable roof of its kind in the world.
Today, BC Place is home to the Vancouver Whitecaps FC MLS franchise, the BC Lions Football Club and the BC Sports Hall of Fame. BC Place is an important generator of economic activity in British Columbia, hosting world-class entertainment events, professional and amateur sport, community gatherings and exhibitions. For more information, please visit www.bcplace.com
Media contacts:
Laura Yake
The Center for Epilepsy & Seizure Education
1-866-374-5377
Epilepsy.info@telus.net