Lehigh wins ‘most purple town’ in county award
Liz Eilf spent most of the day Saturday removing all the 150 balloons from the streets of Lehigh after getting the good news, she said, that Lehigh had won the Purple Palooza Spirit Award.
She said Friday’s day of purple in Lehigh paid off because the community won “the most Purple Spirit Award” for “showing the most public spirit in our relay area,” said Eilf, the chairman for the upcoming fundraiser for cancer here.
Lehigh won over much larger areas like Fort Myers, Cape Coral and Estero.
The town turned purple on Friday with purple balloons all over town, people wearing purple and even a big stuffed purple ape sat in front of a big Purple Palooza Day sign decorated with purple at the “cookie sign” entrance to Lehigh off of Lee Blvd.
“We were blanketed in purpose balloons and we had a beautiful sign put up. Also displaying purple were Lehigh Regional Medical Center and Taylor Carpet and Morgan Title thanks to all of you,” Eilf said.
The Relay for Life program is planned for April and Eilf said team members in Lehigh are looking for people who want to sign up teams to raise money to help cure cancer. She and Diana Resinger and others stood on the streets and were dressed in purple waiving to people as the judge of the contest went by.
Purple is the nationally recognized color for inspiration and it has been chosen as the theme color for the Relay For Life. The Walk in Lehigh will be April 24 and 25.
And what does Lehigh get for all the purple effort?
Eilf said the community will get a banner to display in the downtown area.
“Getting people to help blow up all those 150 balloons really paid off,” Eilf said. Most of them were filled with helium and were hanging from everything up and down Lee Blvd. and Homestead Rd.
Eilf said the judge told her she had never seen so much enthusiasm and wished the community well in raising money to help cure cancer in the spring.