Well folks, it’s that time of year again when you actually see some awareness being raised.

I am pleased to advise that there were a couple of firsts in Nova Scotia this year:

1. We had our first ever flag-raising which took place at Halifax City Hall on Tuesday, May 3rd. The flag raising also included the reading of the Halifax Regional Municipality’s Lyme Disease Awareness Month Proclamation by Mayor Mike Savage, as well as the reading of the province’s Proclamation by Minister Steve Craig, representing Premier Tim Houston.

2. Province House was lit “lime” green this year on May 3rd for the first time in honour of Lyme Disease Awareness Month. Halifax City Hall was once again lit “lime” green on May 3rd as well.

There are a number of things happening in the province this month, including:

• On May 5th there will be a free “Changing Lyme for Life Series” put on by FREmedica. The featured speaker is Dr. Christine Schaffner, ND. Tarin Boucher, the winner of the WAVE 1 during a presentation to our NS Lyme Support Group, will be telling her story as well. Registration is required and you could win a WAVE 1 – https://fremedica.com/.

• Our regularly scheduled Lyme Support Group will be Tuesday, May 10th at noon. Please let me know, at donna.lugar@outlook.com, if you would like to receive a Zoom invite.

• On Wednesday, May 11th, there will be a CBC Maritime Noon call-in show featuring Dr. Vett Lloyd and myself. It will be starting at approximately 12:10 and going until 1:00.

• On Monday, May 16th, at 1:30 pm, Dr. Janet Sperling, an entomologist and new President of the Canadian Lyme Disease Foundation, will be giving a free Public Lecture on Lyme disease in Nova Scotia, via Zoom, put on by the Seniors’ College Association of Nova Scotia. Registration is required via www.theSCANS.org.

• On Thursday, May 19th, we will be having the monthly meeting of the NS Lyme Advocacy Group. We are always looking for people interested in helping out with events, etc. You can reach out to me if interested.

There are also some exciting things going on elsewhere this month. For instance the movie “The Quiet Epidemic” premiered at Hot Docs in Toronto. There are still a couple of days left to purchase the ability to view – https://hotdocs.ca/whats-on/hot-docs-festival/films/2022/quiet-epidemic.

The LivLyme Foundation is hosting a free all day virtual Summit on May 7th – https://livlymefoundation.org/. Lots of amazing speakers, such as Dr. Adrian Baranchuk of Queens University; Dr. Timothy Haystead of Duke University; and many more – https://livlymefoundation.org/.

I hope you all have a chance to educate yourselves and help raise awareness this month, perhaps by decorating your homes, or yourself, in lime green for the month of May. Writing a Letter to the Editor for your local paper; telling your story on social media; or speaking to your government representatives are also great ways to help.

Stay safe folks!