Winston-Salem Turns Purple

Purple will be a popular color in Forsyth communities over the next week.

The Novant Health  Maya Angelou Women's Health and Wellness Center is launching an awareness campaign on Friday called Paint the Town Purple. The goal of the community-wide effort is to fight obesity.  The campaign includes a website called Bright Ideas to encourage citizens to participate in discussions and provide solutions for reducing obesity.

Kirsten Royster, vice president for cardiac and women's services at Novant Health, says the goal of the site is to engage as many Forsyth County residents as possible.

“Basically, the way that it works is that a challenge question will be posted on the website so our entire community can respond to and post ideas and participate in the discussion ideas that others may have posted as well. The first question that we are posting is how can we bring mothers and daughters together to make healthier food choices?” says Royster.

Royster says there also will be lots of visuals of purple throughout the city during the week.

“Some building like the Reynolds building and the Nissen building will turn purple using different lighting. Wells Fargo is also participating in the event by using purple search lights, as well as the Coliseum and other sites throughout the city,” says Royster.

Royster added, “We also have a garden planting at Petree Elementary, in conjunction with the mayor's office, where students will be planting purple vegetables like beets and cabbage.”

On April 23, community members are encouraged to show their support in reducing obesity by wearing purple.