by Jay Jenine Wernick and Claire Tobin

“See the world through the eyes of your inner child. The eyes that sparkle in awe and amazement as they see love, magic and mystery in the most ordinary things.”

Henna Sohail.

On the 7^th of March 2020, people of all ages, from two years old until “very wise”, enjoyed a day filled with colour and laughter, at The Goldilocks and The Bear Foundation’s first Colour Run. Pink, purple, blue, green and yellow were the colours of the day, as adults and children alike had coloured powder thrown at them from all directions. We were fortunate enough to secure sponsorship for a number of children from underprivileged communities who were also extremely excited to be part of the event.

After a colour-filled count down… 3…2…1, our very own “Bear” (Nic de Beer) led the very eager group through the course. A few of the people decided to run fast and did multiple laps and some walked and one participant even “collapsed” from fun-filled exhaustion! As people ran or walked through the course, some dodged the powder and others danced in the colour thrown by our young volunteers. One of the children was overheard saying “Well this is easy” on the toughest hill of the course!

Our event organiser and associate, Jay Jenine Wernick, provided words of encouragement to the volunteers by shouting “Are you guys ready, they are coming, they are coming, be ready”  as they waited for the first participants to reach the section where the colour was being thrown. Jay then left the run in the capable hands of the young volunteers and she was off to commence the treasure hunt with the children aged two to six years old.

After Jay Jenine ensured that everything was going as it should for the colour run, she turned to gather the two to five year old’s for the treasure hunt. After the treasure hunt, all the children received their chocolate medals for participating in the event. One of the children was so eager to have his chocolate, he forgot to remove the wrapper and attempted to bite straight through it!

In the meantime, the smell of pizza filled the air while De Oude Social Café, was preparing for the hungry participants. The underprivileged children whose tummies were rumbling after all the exercise, thoroughly enjoyed the pizza and cold drink that was generously donated by owners, Dimitri and Galia.

More laughter and excited cheering filled the air as we had our prize giving for the cleanest and the dirtiest competitors – as voted for by participants. After the R250 prize was awarded to the dirtiest, one of the children attempted to wipe all of the colour off his face (using his brother as a cleaning tool), in an attempt to win the cleanest prize. Unfortunately for him, there was a girl who managed to dodge most of the powder and went home clean, with R250.

The day was a big success, even for those who were only observers, as they could not help but smile and enjoy the fun that everyone was having. An enormous thank you to all the sponsors involved for making the day possible and for generously helping to give less fortunate kids, the opportunity to join in the fun and the festivities afterwards. Lastly, thank you to each individual who supported the event. We look forward to seeing you again next year.

*Photo credits: Lenelle Henning from Bloom Productions