Sunshine and smiles for Motion Commotion

Kahnawa’kehró:non participating in the Kahnawake Youth Center (KYC)’s first-ever Motion Commotion colour run didn’t just run through clouds of eco-friendly coloured powder being thrown at them during their race - many picked up handfuls from the floor and showered themselves with it, and some even rolled in piles of the stuff, committing fully to the rainbow of the day.

“It was super fun, I actually liked getting all dirty, this is the first time I ever liked getting dirty,” said 11-year-old Dasia Diabo Rose, who ran with her fellow grade five students. “My favourite part was just getting all this colour on me and having fun with my friends.”

Diabo Rose came prepared for the run, donning swimming goggles so she could see through the blooms of rainbow powder being thrown on her and her fellow runners.

“It just looks really cool at the end when you have all this colour on your shirt, because then after you get to keep it,” she said. “I’m not going to frame it, but I’m mostly probably going to wear it every day.”
The event replaces Racers for Health, which had been running in partnership with the Kahnawake Schools Diabetes Prevention Project (KSDPP). Due to a decline in participation in recent years, KYC and KSDPP decided to rethink the event, landing on the idea of a colour run instead.

The colour run saw students from local schools race across Tekakwitha Island in class groups, with a whole community race also taking place in the afternoon.

The groups wore white shirts donated by KSDPP, and volunteers were positioned at five stations across the island, pouring colourful powder on students as they raced by. The powder itself is eco-friendly, KYC said, and fades away quickly with the weather, so it won’t leave a lasting mark on the area.

Karlijn Kronenberg, community and family events coordinator at KYC, worked closely with fellow coordinator Cheyanne McComber on the event.

“We just want everyone to come out, be active, be physical, and have fun,” said Kronenberg, who emphasized that unlike Racers for Health, the event isn’t a traditional “race,” meaning that participants aren’t timed and there’s no winners or losers.

“All the students are running very fast, all of them are really excited about it,” she said.

Staff also got involved in the event - Kateri School resource teacher, Ebby Crowe, who works with nursery and kindergarten students, was positioned at the final colour station, giving students one last explosion of pink before they reached the finish line.

“I saw a lot of big smiles today, I think my favourite moment was watching them roll around in the leftover dust to get as covered in colour as possible,” she said. “I think adding colours to this run definitely had a different spin than other years, and it also encouraged the kids to get into it, stay active, and run the majority of the race.”

Crowe was liberal with the colourful powder.

“It’s awesome when my kiddos from my classes came by, I liked to give them a little extra dose, and they’re happy to see me at the end of the finish line too,” she said.

The event was initially scheduled to start at KYC and pass by the hospital before looping round to Kateri School, but due to a local funeral, organizers shifted the event to the island. The location was a huge hit, with community members enjoying a light breeze as they relaxed after their run.

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