SALISBURY – A third annual Dance for Kindness event will return to Wicomico County next month.
On Nov. 11, participants of a global initiative to honor World Kindness Day will take to the streets of downtown Salisbury for Wicomico County’s third annual Dance For Kindness event.
Grace Foxwell Murdock, coordinator for the event and founder of Wicomico Grows Kindness, said hundreds of community members will participate in a filmed, choreographed dance on North Division Street that displays acts of kindness throughout the routine.
“I wanted Salisbury to have an outreach via our citizens and community that shows and demonstrates our kindness,” she said.
Life Vest Inside founder Orly Wahba started the international event seven years ago to unite people of different backgrounds for World Kindness Day, an occurrence set for Nov. 13 of each year.
Murdock said local participants will join thousands of dancers from 50 countries and 120 cities to perform and film the dance routine as part of a worldwide video montage that will be featured online.
“The connections people make and the representation of kindness is wonderful for our community,” she said. “It’s also very inclusive.”
In the first two years, Murdock said the local event attracted more than 500 dancers and spectators, but she added that she is hoping for an even larger turnout this year.
“Everyone is welcome,” she said. “It’s not just for Salisbury and Wicomico residents. We have people coming up from northern Virginia to dance as well as students from UMES, Salisbury University and local schools.”
Murdock said residents across the Eastern Shore can sign up online to participate in the local Dance for Kindness event. Once they are registered, she said dancers will receive a link to learn the flash mob routine.
“The sooner they sign up the better,” she said, “because they need to practice at home before the event.”
Murdock said participants will have even more to celebrate this year, as the event leads up to Salisbury being named the first World Kindness City in the nation.
“We applied to World Kindness USA and meet 10 kindness performance indicators. One of them was a large event just for kindness,” she said. “This dance has become a huge event for Salisbury and Wicomico, and it became a key component in helping Salisbury become a World Kindness City in 2019.”
Since the event will take place on Veterans Day, Murdock said participants will also have the opportunity to honor veterans and active members of the military.
“We are also filling out cards for Operation We Care boxes, which are sent to troops overseas,” she said.
Murdock said the event will also feature a kindness award presentation from Salisbury Mayor Jake Day, arts and crafts activities, musical performances, and a food drive for the Maryland Food Bank and Salisbury University’s “Food for the Flock” food pantry.
“People are urged to bring nonperishable items,” she said.
Murdock also encouraged community members to come and support the dancers.
“We love the spectators,” she said. “They cheer us on.”
The third annual Dance for Kindness event will take place on Nov. 11 from 2-4 p.m. on North Division Street in downtown Salisbury.
For more information on Wicomico County’s Dance for Kindness event, visit the Wicomico Grows Kindness Facebook page. To register, visit www.danceforkindness.com.
