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Tiptoe through the Tulipathon

By Marie Nigro


Two people holding a banner with the Archdiocese logo on it
Ready to start! Can you see my archdiocesan enthusiasm shining through?

On Sunday, May 26, 2024, I had the pleasure of participating in Tulipathon 2024 as a walker with the Archdiocese of Ottawa-Cornwall to help raise funds for the Multifaith Housing Initiative (MHI).


Tulipathon is MHI’s annual fundraiser in support of its affordable housing communities. MHI comprises more than 70 faith groups from Ottawa, and each year the city’s faith groups affiliated with MHI send teams to Dow’s Lake to participate in Tulipathon (in a nutshell, it’s a 3K walkathon around the lake).


This was my first time attending Tulipathon. In fact, despite having lived here for more than a decade, I had never heard of Tulipathon until seeing it on the Archdiocese’s events page. It looked like fun, so I decided to give it a try. Was I nervous? Oh yes! Even though I have a gregarious personality, deep down I’m terribly shy and, because I have an anxiety disorder, crowds stress me out, so I rely on my innate enthusiasm to psyche me up in situations like these. When that fails, I pray to the Most Holy Trinity to help regain my inner peace. (“Jesus, I trust in you” is one I use when the anxiety builds up. It works!)


Many banners and posters in front of a high-rise building
Participants wave their banners high during the banner contest.

The setting was also a motivator. Dow’s Lake is the site of Ottawa’s famous Tulip Festival, so I wasn’t going to pass up a chance to tiptoe through the lake’s tulips. Did Tulipathon deliver? Oh yes! I had a great time supporting a great cause. It was wonderful to see friends from other parishes, and to make friends with people of other faiths. This event combined two of my favourite things: walking and faith!



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