World Laughter Day – Sunday, May 2, 2004

Today’s headlines are filled with messages heralding worrisome topics – the economy, weapons of mass destruction, terrorists, taxes, unemployment rates. Hark! There’s another message - take time to laugh and lighten up your mental workload. A special day is even set aside for laughter - World Laughter Day.

The first World Laughter Day gathering happened in 1998 in Mumbai, India. This year, on Sunday, May 2nd, many events will happen around the world. “With so many people having super busy schedules and various pressures, demands, and hectic lives, laughter often takes a back seat,” says Dr. Steve Wilson, Co-founder of the World Laughter Tour, www.worldlaughtertour.com. “This is a day when everyone can set aside their troubles and make laughing their top priority.” North Carolina’s Piedmont Triad area is set to be a part of this international celebration.

Laughter in the Triad, It’s Official

Triad area World Laughter Day host site representatives and event sponsors gathered in March as official Laughter Day Proclamations were signed by The Honorable Keith Holliday, Mayor, City of Greensboro; The Honorable Rebecca R. Smothers, Mayor, City of High Point; and The Honorable Allen Joines, Mayor, City of Winston-Salem declaring Sunday, May 2nd as Laughter Day in their respective cities.

Each proclamation encourages the community to join together in true mirthful laughter to experience good-hearted living and nurture international harmony.

Celebrate at Three Triad Locations
Triad Retirement Living Association (TRLA) and its members have embraced laughter for wellness and are sponsoring World Laughter Day events in the Piedmont Triad. Three TRLA member senior retirement communities are host sites for the planned festivities.

Greensboro, NC Proclamation Signing - Standing L to R	photo by Ron Hayden
Dennis Tofano, Executive Director, Morningview at Irving Park (Host Site Representative)
Jill Willis, President, Triad Retirement Living Association (Sponsor)
Marilyn Sprague-Smith, Certified Laughter Leader, Miracles & Magic, Inc. (Event Producer)
Kris Munch, Community Relations Coordinator, Morningview at Irving Park (Host Site Representative)
Seated - The Honorable Keith Holliday, Mayor, City of Greensboro
Greensboro area host site: Morningview at Irving Park at 1:00 PM; Contact Kris Munch @336-545-3444

	High Point, NC Proclamation Signing- Standing L to R
	Linda Allgood, Director of Resident Services and Community Relations, River Landing at Sandy Ridge (Host Site Representative)
	Melissa Marion, YMCA of Greater High Point (Host Site Representative)
	Steele Smith, President, Miracles & Magic, Inc. (Event Producer)
	Jill Willis, President, Triad Retirement Living Association (Sponsor)
	Crystal Morris, River Landing at Sandy Ridge (Host Site Representative)
	Seated - The Honorable Rebecca R. Smothers, Mayor, City of High Point
	High Point host site: River Landing at Sandy Ridge, in partnership with YMCA of Greater High Point at 5:00 PM ; Contact Linda Allgood @ 336-668-4900

Winston-Salem Proclamation Standing L to R
Jill Willis, President, Triad Retirement Living Association (Sponsor)
Steele Smith, President, Miracles & Magic, Inc. (Event Producer)
Janice Lutz Vanhoy, Director of Recreation Services, Arbor Acres (Host Site Representative)
Kristin Williams-Brown, Wellness Coordinator, Arbor Acres (Host Site Representative)
Seated - The Honorable Allen Joines, Mayor, City of Winston-Salem
Host site for planned festivities: Arbor Acres United Methodist Retirement Community at 3:00 PM; Contact Janice Lutz Vanhoy @336-724-7921, ext. 266 What can you expect? “Fun, food and laughter,” says Jill Willis, President of TRLA, “and it’s free.” Each site will have a 45 minute program where everyone is welcome. Certified Laughter Leader Marilyn Sprague-Smith will lead therapeutic laughter exercises and share six habits of daily living to prevent hardening of the attitudes. Plus, WIST 98.3 FM/790 AM morning drive personality Wes Jones and afternoon drive personality Bill Price will keep the program lively so you can uplift, invigorate and energize your spirit.

Still wondering about World Laughter Day? “Laughter is an ambassador to all your good feelings,” says Norman Cousins, former editor of Saturday Review magazine and author of Anatomy of an Illness. He was struck with a rare disease that left him bedridden and extremely weak. The odds of a complete recovery were 500 to 1 against him. In his book Anatomy of an Illness, he described his struggle to regain wellness and how he used laughter to overcome pain.

Still unsure? Consider this. “When you’re laughing, you discharge tension associated with four primary negative emotions – depression, anxiety, fear and anger,” says Dr. William Fry of Stanford University.

Host sites in the Piedmont Triad welcome you to join in World Laughter Day festivities on Sunday, May 2nd. To view roster of registered festivities throughout North America, go to www.worldlaughtertour.com “Click on World Laughter Day Events and Greetings.”

Bottom line, World Laughter Day is about YOU smiling, laughing and feeling GREAT!