At long last, here is our video from the fun we had at the Yarmouth Clam Festival where we made an appearance this summer before their annual parade.

Our vision was to create "Maine's Longest Smile" by getting as many as people as possible to form a single line in the middle of the parade route.  We then asked them to freeze and smile.  As you will see in the video, we also added a little bit of other fun, too! It was amazing to be in my home state of Maine and watch so many people come together to have fun.  Also, a note that is a part of little known trivia in The Levity Project World is that "Maine's Longest Smile" event was staged, one year and one day after The first Levity Project event ever done!  WooHoo!

Enjoy the video and join our mailing list or find us on Facebook (The Levity Project) and let's continue to grow the movement of more play, laughter and celebration in our world!  Also, our new calendar of events will be out soon, as well as a new way for  you to bring The Levity Project fun to your hometown!

Big Thank You's and Appreciation to:

Yarmouth Clam Festival

Holly Guy, Carolyn Schuster, and Julie Mellor Yarmouth Clam Festival and Chamber of Commerce

Lisa and Sheldon Perkins at Yes! Marketing Group

Photographer:

Leslie Wagner of Leslie Wagner Art Direction/Design/Photo

Videographers:

Brett Plymale… brett@pfzmedia.com

Charles Hudson…  Hudson Media Empire

Francesco Sanfilippo

Harper Alexander

And thank you to all the amazing people who were The Levity Project Players in Maine!!

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Getting Into the Grocery Groove

by Katie on September 7, 2010

I am so so excited to announce what is below-the newest micro-movement!  And it is only fitting that our Operations Manager Extraordinaire, Ina Lukas, write the below post as this has long been a dream of hers!  Let’s help her make the dream a reality!

* * * * * * *

A couple years ago I was grocery shopping with my husband on a Friday night. We were in a huge grocery store and there were people everywhere. When I looked around I noticed something very unsettling.

Everyone I looked at seemed beaten down somehow, their eyes cast down, barely looking up enough to see the food on the shelves. They looked pained to be facing the daunting task of buying food. In that moment I turned to my husband and said, “Wouldn’t it be amazing if all of the sudden this became a music video?!”.

Fast forward two minutes.

We were standing in the “World Food” aisle. The boring music that was playing cut out and went silent. Out of nowhere, the music cranked up and Feist’s song, “One, two, three, four, tell me that you love me more…” came on and I could not possibly hold back.

I started dancing.

I started twirling out from the cart to grab rice noodles off of the shelf, and then twirled back in to throw it in the cart. I lip synced. I grabbed my husband’s hand and twirled into him. I danced with a jar of salsa as my microphone. I was completely lost in my bliss. I became my own music video.  Within moments, the people around me transformed. Their eyes lit up. They started smiling. They started swaying their hips. They started grabbing food off of the shelf with a little more zest. Some even sang along, too.

I couldn’t believe it! It was like the store started to come to life. It was a moment of witnessing the ordinary becoming extraordinary. It was a realization that one person immersed in their joy can transform the outlook of total strangers, no matter how mundane the task is that they are engaged in.

It’s easy to think that you can’t change the world while shopping for groceries, but what if you could?

What if you embraced your joy and brought it into your ho-hum tasks, like buying groceries, and in the process you had an effect on someone that shifted their outlook. That made them smile. That created a

magical experience for them. That brought them out of the problems they were facing, if even for one minute.

That’s exactly what we’re asking you to do for The Levity Project’s newest Micro-Movement:

To go dance in your local grocery store.

That’s right. Dance as you are shopping for food, video tape it and send it to us. We will compile all of your videos from around the world to create one very fun Global Grocery Store Dancing video.

A micro-movement  is an idea we came up with and it means that you in your offline life, go out, by yourself or with a couple others and create change. And someone two towns over is doing it, some people across the country, and others in different places around the world. The “social movement” comes together online when you send us your video clip of you creating your own personal change.

This one may push you out of your comfort zone, but that’s what it’s all about. When you allow  yourself to go to new places of fun, you inspire others permission to do the same.

As with all events with The Levity Project, you are not trying to change anyone else or convince them to join you. This is your own personal act of awesomeness. And as you will see, by simply being your joyful self, you create a ripple effect of positivity,

Send your videos to us!

Please upload your video clips, unedited, to this link by September 30th via the email address Ina(at) the levity project (dot) com.

We can’t wait to see what you send! Happy grocery dancing!

Ina

PS Photo Credit to our friends, Mary and Keith in Santa Fe with a very cool Travel Blog!

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The Levity Project in New Mexico!

August 22, 2010

Join the fun:  The Levity Project will be in Albuquerque, New Mexio on August 28th!  Sign up below to get all the details!

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One World, One Smile Video

July 28, 2010

Yay! The newest micro-movement video, "One World, One Smile,"  is here at last! Thank you to ALL of you who supported our efforts by spreading the word, sending us your videos, or simply by smiling more in your daily lives! What is a Micro-movement? A micro-movement is a concept The Levity Project created which brings [...]

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The Smile Effect!

July 11, 2010

          Part of why I love The Levity Project is not only in bringing amazing people together to do events, but it is the more subtle side of how it affects my life in the days in between all the fun we get to create in public. I love being reminded that The Levity Project [...]

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Smile: The Micromovement

June 10, 2010

“Because of your smile, you make life more beautiful.” ~ Thich Nhat Hanh S M I L E !! …for no other reason than you can. Do you know that person? You know the one…always has a smile on her face. Or maybe it’s that you see his smile get bigger as you approach.  In that instant, [...]

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We are back!

June 8, 2010

We've been out of commission for a while because we got hacked by someone (who must need to smile more often!) and our site got a virus. Thanks to you folks who told us about it right away and our sincere apologies too. We've been working on it since and ended up having to move [...]

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How Do You Greet Your Day?

May 16, 2010

Note:  If you are having trouble viewing this, please click here.

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Join The Levity Project in NYC for World Laughter Day!

April 26, 2010

  The Down Low…. One year ago, The Levity Project began. It started when I was on a trip to New York City and was riding a subway car by myself. I was listening to music on my headphones and smiling with my eyes closed, enjoying the moment. When I opened my eyes, people were [...]

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A Rubber Duck And a Smile

April 24, 2010

photo credit: RealEstateZebra “The happiness of life is made up of minute fractions – the little, soon-forgotten charities of a kiss or smile, a kind look, a heart-felt compliment, and the countless infinitesimals of pleasurable and genial feeling” ~ Samuel Taylor Coleridge I keep a rubber duck by my desk. Wow!!  Do I seem a [...]

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