World Kindness Day, November 13, 2021, was celebrated in a grand way at the Cape Cod Kindness Festival at Buzzards Bay Park in Bourne, Massachusetts. The festival, the first of its kind, drew in a enormous crowd from the surrounding community and beyond.
The Kindness Festival was sponsored by Kind Hearts for Kids, Inc. which supports adoptive, foster and kinship families in the Cape Cod area. Nicole Mitchell, the owner of the not-for-profit organization, brainstormed the idea of the kindness festival to bring the community together for fun filled day-and after seven weeks of planning, the Cape Cod Kindness Festival was born. Even the weather was kind, (at least during the Festival) with a sunny and 60 degree November day!
The Festival’s success was ensured by the numerous sponsors, volunteers and vendors. Patrons spent the afternoon browsing a extensive variety of items and crafts for sale at numerous tent displays set up throughout the Park. If you couldn’t find at least one item to check off of your holiday gift list, you definitely weren’t looking hard enough!
Adding to the fun of the day, our own local celebrity, Stephanie Viva from1023FM, kept the party going with music for all ages. The kids enjoyed their own dance party in the gazebo with Stephanie spinning the tunes!
If shopping, dancing or eating wasn’t your thing, there were plenty of other activities to fill your afternoon. There was walk-a-thon and litter clean up held along the Canal. The Pound Martial Arts held a demonstration of their students amazing talents. Greyhound Pets of America held a meet and greet-dog owners of all types of breeds brought their pups to the park to visit. Alpacas, goats and even bunnies were on hand from Pine Meadow Alpacas, delicious food was delivered from the Wicked Fire Pizza food truck and for desert, a bake sale full of goodies galore!
The Kid Zone was by far one of the most popular areas of the Festival, with face painting, rock painting, story time, kids yoga, random acts of kindness, a photo booth, bowling and a ring toss. The kids couldn’t get enough and the smiles were contagious.
The Phi Theta Kappa Honors society of Cape Cod Community College volunteered their time running the toy drive. All toys collected will benefit kids in foster, adoptive or kinship care throughout the Cape. The generous outpouring of toy donations far exceeded all expectations!
Nicole Mitchell, owner of Kind Hearts for kids, took a moment out of her busy day at the Festival to be recognized for her incredible contributions to the community. Pictured here with her invaluable team of volunteers, from left to right: Theresa Mazzacone, Sue Murphy, Nicole Mitchell and Lorraine Marasco Schratz. This was the only time Nicole could be seen standing still!
The incredible outpouring of support from the community made the day a colossal success! Kind Hearts for Kids is grateful to all of the volunteers, sponsors, vendors and participants for making this possible and to everyone who attended, donated and enjoyed the day with us!
No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.
-Aesop