HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016 05-12 Nikki Villavicencio: Is laughter the best medicine for a whole city (Maplewood, for example) PIONEER PRESS5/13/2016 Nikki Vi I lavicencio: Is laughter the best medicine for a whole city (Maplewood, for example)?–Twin Cities
Nikki Villavicencio: Is laughter the best medicine
for a
whole for example)?
By 'VH<,114,<J1 III IIL........ III III IIIIIIIIII III
May 12, 2016 UPDATED: 21 hours ago
Soon, the city of Maplewood will officially be laughing in the face of the pressures on a fast-growing suburb.
With the support of the City Council, Maplewood Mayor Nora Slawik is proclaiming May 14 Maplewood's Day of Laughter. That day,
people of all ages are invited to the Maplewood Community Center from 4 to 5:30 p.m. to celebrate at a Laugh In, a free open house of
family fun focused on bringing people together to laugh. The Maplewood Police Department is even getting into the act, competing
against the City Council in a Joke Swap to see who can collect the best (G -rated) jokes from people at the event. The winning joke will get
a place of honor in Maplewood's Laughter Museum (interactive installations that will be popping up and spreading more laughter
throughout the city all summer long).
Some may be skeptical of city government designating time and energy to laughing. Life is serious business and a growing number of
Maplewood residents are facing such critical needs as hunger and poverty. In my roles as a disability rights advocate and Maplewood
Parks and Recreation commissioner, I have witnessed the struggles that individuals with disabilities, whole families and neighborhoods
face on an everyday basis. As a mother and spouse, I make time for fun with my family. But as an advocate, although I'm always
searching for positive coping mechanisms to overcome oppression, I have to ask, what good can laughter do for my community?
Like most first -ring suburbs, it is vital that the city of Maplewood find ways for our community to connect across race, class, gender and
ability. The lack of a city center or downtown can add an element of isolation to language and cultural barriers for some of our fastest-
growing populations (East African, Hmong, Latino and Karen residents). Our
central question becomes: How do we bring people together across divides in Maplewood?
Maplewood Parks and Recreation is responding to this question with Kid City, an innovative collaboration with award-winning Twin
City artists Z Puppets Rosenschnoz. Kid City is a series of family -friendly, public events — like the May 14 Laugh In — that bring people
together across cultures, ages and abilities with the power of playfulness. Kid City is built on the idea that if we follow our children's lead
to embrace curiosity about the world around us, we can spark new connections with each other.
Funded by grants from the Minnesota State Arts Board and Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, this spring, the Kid City artist team
began leading youth and adults to explore humor and their "Happy Places" with free workshops and interactive performances at Tubman
Family Crisis & Support Services Center; Carver, Edgerton and Weaver elementary schools; senior centers; and Maplewood Mall. This
summer, Kid City will continue to advance the goal of Parks and Recreation's 20 -Year Master Plan to integrate arts into the parks.
Laughter Museums will pop up in Maplewood Mall, City Hall, the library and community center. Kid City teen videographers will create
mini -documentaries expressing their views of life in Maplewood. Junior -high students can sign up for a free five-day Kid Council (Aug.
8-12) to brainstorm creative solutions to city challenges through improvisational theater — and then share their ideas with the mayor.
As a Maplewood Parks and Recreation Commissioner, I joined the advisory committee of Kid City out of civic duty. However, after
seeing and being a part of Kid City in action, I am inspired. Witnessing all this laughter reminds me that many of life's most meaningful
moments happen when I do not take myself so seriously.
According to the Mayo Clinic, laughing has many short- and long-term health benefits for individuals, including stress release, oxygen
increase, pain relief and strengthened immune system. Imagine multiplying and sharing these benefits as a community.
Using laughter as medicine cannot be the only tool we choose to address our community's issues. However, in this fast -paced, complex
world, the creativity of children may be the best place to start true revitalization.
On May 14, come by the Maplewood Community Center to judge for yourself. Can laughter be good medicine for an entire city? While
you're there, share a joke, get a giggle. Maybe you'll discover a new way to connect to a neighbor, police officer or City Council
representative.
Join me as I support Mayor Slawik, our City Council and our Maplewood Police to help proclaim, "May 14 shall officially be
Maplewood's Day of Laughter!"
Nikki Villavicencio is a Maplewood Parks and Recreation commissioner.
http://www.twi nciti es.com/2016/05/12Jni kki-vi I I avicencio-i s -laughter -the -best -m edi ci ne-for-a-whole-city-m aplewood-for-exam ple/ 1/1