Illuminate Canada Yellow 2026 (& Beyond)

Image Description: This is a poster announcing Environmental Sensitivities / Multiple Chemical Sensitivity / May Awareness Month. The image is of the Manitoba Legislature building with a yellow circle projected on it. The following text is visible in yellow and white “Environmental Sensitivities /Multiple Chemical Sensitivity / May Awareness Month. #IlluminateCanadaYellow. Coast-to-Coast-to-Coast. 2026. Sponsored by Environmental Health Association of Manitoba EHA-MB.

May 12, 2026
30+ proclamations

Click on the link and hit ‘going’ and share widely!
https://www.facebook.com/share/1DucAveQBb/


Image Description: Words say Multiple Chemical Sensitivity on yellow background – Wendy Kearley
Image Description: Yellow Flowers from Tree Child
Image Description: Chemical Sensitivity Symptoms – Wendy Kearley
Image Description: Notepad booklet by Teri Bell Arts – for a good cause with writing #canaryinthecoalmine and a yellow canary upside down with the words #MCSfacts. The words accessible means fragrance-free.
Image Description: Unconveni Ence Store storefront window with #IlluminateCanadaYellow written in black on yellow paper in the window.
Image Description: the words “High Sensitivity” written on a road sign with blue sky and clouds by Wendy Kearley
St. Anthony’s Greek Orthodox Monastery, visitor entrance, Florence, AZ
Image Description: Sunflower meme sent in by Sam Fonte. Words on the sunflower include: “Yellow is for the human canaries of the world who are clearly warning everyone of the dangers of chemicals. Please listen. Go fragrance free.”
Image Description: Submitted by Shelley Wright. Shelley with brown hair and glasses is wearing yellow with pink and white flowers. Shelley is putting her hands in front of her chest in a heart shape.
Image Description: Yellow, copper and yellow (stone) Pendant sent in by Marya Summers
Image Description: Dandelion Dining sent in by Paul D. Turgeon. Yellow dandelions for eyes and a nose on a plate with green lettuce type greenery for hair and smile on a green and white square tablecloth with fork on left side of the plate and knife and spoon on right side of the plate.
Image Description: Pendant by Marya Summers with yellow stone, copper (?) and chain
Image Description: MCS Poster Meme by Lynda LeMesurier-Boshcoff
Image Description: Pendant by Marya Summers
Image Description: green t-shirt with a lady in yellow dress and a flame with the words I’m Fine by Lynda LeMesurier-Boshcoff
Image Description: Small Yellow Flowers on a plant with rocks around and a building at back by Liz Smentowski
Image Description: Cartoon sent in by Linda Sepp
Image Description: Cartoon sent in by Linda Sepp. Two doors. One sayint Damned if you do on the left and Damned if you don’t on the right with 2 cartoon characters looking at them while in a cave.
Image Description: Cartoon by Linda Sepp that sayd Life Is Just So Daily with a girl looking frazzled.
Image Description: Meme sent in by Linda Sepp. A dragon like creature breathing a lot of fire into the window. The caption in the meme says “I open the window so that a bit of air comes in”.
Image Description: Cartoon sent in by Linda Sepp. Some kind of cartoon creature light brown saying “UNLESS someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not”. The Lorax
Image Description: Cartoon sent in by Linda Sepp. A machine throwing a lot of lemons and the cartoon guy is sitting there with his head on the table with bottles of lemon juice on the right hand side of the photo.
Image Description: Cartoon sent in by Linda Sepp. The title is Chronic Illness with a calendar that says life planner. Most all days except one say “REST DAY” and on one day it says “did a thing”.
Image Description: Cartoon sent in by Linda Sepp. On left side is a bottle of perfume that says “No. 5 Social Distance Potion”. The right hand said is a canary wearing a mask with the title “Socially Distanced and Disabled Isolation Since No. 5.”
Image Description: Meme sent in by Linda Sepp. Reddish and orange and yellow sky in the background with an open bird cage on the left and two black coloured birds flying on the right. The words say “Always help somoene. You might be the only one who does.”
Image Description: Meme sent in by Linda Sepp. Drawings of clocks in the background of light gray with white and yellow writing saying “Are you fragrance-free yet?”
Image Description: MCS Meme sent in by Linda Izinthe House. Some of the words with lungs, heart, kidneys and liver and brain in the image include – What you breathe in goes straight to your lungs, then travels to your bloodstream and other vital organs.
Image Description: Poster by Linda Izinthe House. May is MCS AwAIRness Month, “Multiple Chemical Sensitivitites”. Chemical Sensitivities are debilitating and life threatening for many. The adverse health effects of exposure often immediately mimic other more common ills, or can be cumulative, eventually showing up in the most uncomfortable and sometimes tragic ways. Avoidance of fragranced chemicals, essential oils, smoke, vape and other harmful voc exposures is required. Are your product choices truly safe for others to be & breathe around?
Image Description: Canary MCS Awareness Month sent in by Linda Sepp. Yellow canary with the words multiple chemical sensitivity at the top and MAY is MCS Awareness Month on the left and right side of the canary. I am a human canary at the bottom of the image under the canary.
Image Description: MCS Meme sent in by Linda Izinthe House. Yellow feather on black backgroung. Black writing in the yellow feather says this: MCS AwAIRness Month. Ditch ALL scents & learn more about product contents & what they emit.
Image Description: MCS Meme sent in by Linda Izinthe House – Go Fully Fragrance Free in May
Image Description: Kathie Wallace holding a poster of a yellow flower and a bee. Poster says “For a viable planet stop 5G”.
Image Description: MCS Meme sent in by Linda Izinthe House. May is MCS AwAIRness Month. Some of the words include: Toxic chemicals elevate the risk for neurodevelopmental disorders, including learning disabilties, attention defecit hyperactivity disorder 95, (ADHD), and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The developing brain is particularly vulnerable to toxic chemicals, even at low doses.
Image Description: Canaries Cartoon sent in by Barb Hopkins Payne. Two birds chatting one says “Hey, do you feel zaps in your head near those cell towers back there?!”. The other yellow bird says “Yeah, I already posted about it at my Chirper page. #ThanksHumans”.
Image Description: Agua Caliente Regional Park, Tucson, AZ by Liz Smentowski. Cactuses and yellow flowers on the cactus along a pathway with greenery and a mountain in the background with blue sky and a little bit of clouds.
Image Description: The words “Whoot whoot!” written by TC TC. Yellow flowers with green foliage.

Welcome & How-It-Works

💛 Welcome to Illuminate Canada Yellow 2026! 🇨🇦

You’re in—let’s light up Canada together!

Here’s your game plan for this national and international event!

May 1–12:

📸 Daily prompts in this Discussion tab — share yellow photos in COMMENTS (tap camera icon, no separate posts).

May 1: 4 posts to kick off (landmarks lit yellow + something yellow – your yellow outfit (shirt, hat, scarf near a landmark if possible) + 2 surprise projects).

May 2 to 11: Yellow (photo) themes from your world!

May 2: Photos of something yellow in your world – wear something yellow!

May 3: Yellow flowers/plants (dandelions, sunflowers in your yard)

May 4: Yellow food/drink (banana split, lemonade, mustard)

May 5: Yellow vehicle (taxi, school bus, your car)

May 6: Yellow art, painting, knitting, anything creative sign you made

May 7: Yellow in nature (sunset, sand, leaves)

May 8: Yellow with friends/family (group in yellow shirts)

May 9: Yellow household item (sponge, Post-Its, rubber duck)

May 10: Yellow animal/pet (canary, goldfish, yellow dog, yellow outfit?)

May 11: Yellow recycling (cans, bottles in yellow bag)

May 12: ES/MCS Awareness Day— all projects unite!

May 12 photos: Yellow proclamation (flag waving, “Illuminate Canada Yellow” sign)

May 12 Share a photo of something you are using that is fragrance free

Curated Landmark Photos
More photos will be added soon!


Image Description: Niagara Falls, Ontario from Laura JMac intosh. The falls are illuminated green with a tinge of yellow.
Image Description: CN Tower, Toronto Ontario by Marc Rende. A view from a ferry from the water.
Image Description: CN Tower, Toronto Ontario by Marc Rende. A view from a ferry from the water. Top of the CN Tower illuminated yellow.
Image Description: CN Tower, Toronto by Marc Rende. A view from a ferry from the water. Top of the CN Tower yellow with a ring of green underneath.
Image Description: CN Tower, Toronto Ontario by Kae Donais. CN Tower has a purply tinge with white possibly turning yellow at the top.
Image Description: CN Tower in Toronto by Carol Damioli
Image Description: For A Good Cause CN Tower, Winnipeg Screen-grab composition. The CN Tower has a tine of yellow, white and green in the lights.
Image Description: Toronto Ontario, La Tour CN 50 screen shot provided by Laura JMac Intosh
Manitoba Legislature sent in by Paul Morrissette
Selkirk Water Tower sent in by Marg Friesen
Image Description: Winnipeg Esplanade Riel Bridge by Paul Morrissette in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Illuminated yellow with a tinge of green.
Image Description: Winnipeg Esplanade Riel Bridge by Paul Morrisette in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Illuminated green and yellow reflecting off the river.
Image Description: Winnipeg Esplanade Riel Bridge by Paul Morrissette in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Illuminated yellow and a tinge of green.
Image Description: Marg Friesen in front of Winnipeg sign, in front of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Photo by S. Ramsurran. The letters of Winnipeg are lit yellow and green.
Image Description: Winnipeg sign, in front of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Letters illuminated yellow and green. Photo by Paul Morrissette
Image Description: Winnipeg Esplanade Riel Bridge in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Bridge and surrounding buildings in Winnipeg and the Canadian Museum for Human Rights reflecting off the water. The Bridge is green and yellow. Photo by Luc Langevin
Canadian Museum for Human Rights Winnipeg by Paul Morrissette
Image Description: Winnipeg Esplanade Riel Bridge in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Bridge and surrounding buildings in Winnipeg reflecting off the water. The Bridge is green and yellow. Photo by Luc Langevin.
Image Description: Winnipeg sign, in front of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Letters illuminated yellow and green. Photo by Luc Langevin
Winnipeg, MB by Paul Morrissette
Esplanade Riel Bridge, Winnipeg by Paul Morrissette

Two views of the London Life buildings in London, Ontario on May 1, 2026. Contributed by one of Electromagnetic Pollution Illnesses Canada Foundation’s volunteers.

London Life buildings in London, Ontario Contributed by Electromagnetic Pollution Illnesses Canada Foundation’s volunteer
London Life buildings in London, Ontario from Barb Hopkins Payne
Image Description: City Hall, Thunder Bay. Photo by Lynda LeMesurier-Boshcoff

BC Place-image courtesy of BC Place
BC Place-image courtesy of BC Place
Vancouver BC – Photo by anonymous
Image Description: Science World, courtesy of Science World
Vancouver, BC – Photo by anonymous

Fredericton NB Canada photo by Shelley D Petit
Image Description: Centre Avenir, Mocton NB Canada photo by Shelly D. Petit
The Avenir Center, Mocton by Shelly D. Petit
Yellow Bridge sent in by Jessi Goodridge

List of over 60 Landmarks Across Canada
 Coast-to-Coast-to-Coast – Shining a Light on Environmental Sensitivities

Calling photographers for Illuminate Canada Yellow 🌟
Over 60 landmarks across Canada will be lit in yellow from May 1–13, 2026, shining a light on Environmental Sensitivities.

We need photographers to capture these glowing landmarks in your city and share them widely.



How you can help:


• Visit your local landmark on its lighting night (for example May 1, May 12, or other listed dates).
• Capture the yellow glow, people, reflections, and atmosphere.
• Upload your best photos to Facebook, Instagram, X (Twitter), or your website.
• Tag:  #IlluminateCanadaYellow #IlluminateCanadaYellow2026

Selected photos may be shared on the campaign event. Let’s help Canada shine, one yellow light at a time.

You can share in the event on the post for that day.
Link to the event: https://www.facebook.com/share/1B6twYLxca/?mibextid=wwXIfr


Landmarks to be Illuminated Yellow May 1, 2026 


ALBERTA
•The Saline Creek Pedestrian Bridge, Fort McMurray

BRITISH COLUMBIA
•Legislative Assembly of British Columbia (Ceremonial Entrance, Front Fountain, Back Fountain), Victoria
•Ladysmith
Ladysmith City Hall
Aggie Hall
Ladysmith Sign at Bob Stuart Park
Area on 1st Ave above the sidewalk chessboard
•Nanaimo Bastion
•New Westminster City Hall
•Science World in Vancouver
•Municipality of Whistler, Fitzsimmons Creek Bridge

MANITOBA
•Legislative Assembly of Manitoba, Winnipeg
•Selkirk Water Tower

NEW BRUNSWICK
•Bathurst Waterfront Tower at Promenade Waterfront



NEWFOUNDLAND/LABRADOR
•Corner Brook City Hall
•Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly/Confederation Building (in St. John’s)

NORTHWEST TERRITORIES
•Northwest Territories Legislative Assembly, Yellowknife

NOVA SCOTIA
•Halifax City Hall
•New Glasgow Town Hall
•Nova Scotia Legislature, Halifax 
•Truro Library

ONTARIO
•Guelph City Hall and Market Square
•London City Hall in London
•JA Taylor Building at Wellington and Dundas in London
•Canada Life in London
•RBC London in London
•Sifton Properties on Dufferin in London
•Mississauga Civic City Tower, clock tower – including promotional messaging on digital screens at Mississauga Celebrations Square
•Peace Bridge, Fort Erie ON/Buffalo NY
•Seaway International Bridge, international toll bridge system linking Cornwall, Ontario, Akwesasne and Massena, New York

•3D Toronto Sign, Toronto
•Welland Canal Bridge 13, Welland

PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND
•Charlottetown City Hall Tower
•Summerside City Hall
•Three Rivers Town Hall Tower

QUEBEC
•Hotel Le Concorde, Quebec City
•The Montreal Tower, Montreal (they were under construction they were here with us in spirit)



Landmarks to be Illuminated Yellow May 12, 2026


ALBERTA
•Alberta Legislature, Edmonton (yellow and green)
•Calgary Tower (yellow and green)
•High Level Bridge in Edmonton
•Okotoks Municipal Centre (yellow and green)
•Sylvan Lake Lighthouse (yellow and green)


BRITISH COLUMBIA
•Burnaby
 City Hall (yellow and green)
•Maple Ridge Municipal Hall (yellow and green)


NEW BRUNSWICK
•Moncton City Hall
•SAINT JOHN sign, City of Saint John


ONTARIO
•City of Brampton Clock Tower (yellow and green)
•Brant Street Pier in Burlington
•CN Tower, Toronto (yellow and green)
•Hamilton Sign, half hour intervals, parallel organizations lighting for their events
•Kitchener City Hall -Carl Zehr Square

•Niagara Falls (Niagara Falls Illumination Board) time is 10:00pm approx (yellow and green)


QUEBEC
•Hotel Le Concorde – Thank you Danielle C (member of Collectif Sante Sans Produits Parfumes) for securing this location




Other dates for lighting, 2026


April 27 to May 3 – Belleville Bridge and Belleville Sign, Belleville, Ontario

May 1 to May 4 – Regina City Hall in the foyer, Regina, Saskatchewan

May 1 to May 4 – Thunder Bay City Hall fountain lit in white lights

May 1 to 7 – Queen Elizabeth Park, Miramichi, New Brunswick 

May 1 to 12 – Miramichi Town Hall, Miramichi, New Brunswick 

May 1 to 12 – Cape Breton Regional Municipality, Sydney, Nova Scotia


May 1 to 12 – Dauphin City Hall, Dauphin, Manitoba

May 1 to 14 – Fredericton City Hall, Fredericton, New Brunswick

May 1 to 31 – Quinte West Sign, Quinte West, Ontario


May 1 to 31 – Veteran’s Skyway Bridge, Trenton (Quinte West), Ontario

May 2 – BC Place, Vancouver, British Columbia


May 2 – Vancouver Convention Centre, Vancouver, British Columbia


May 6 – Red Deer City Hall – Thank you Kathie Wallace for securing this location


May 6 Commemorative lighting at City Hall, Peterborough, Ontario


May 7 – Riverwalk Commons and Fred A. Lundy Bridge, New Market, Ontario

May 8 to 11 –  Edmundston City Hall, Edmundston, New Brunswick


May 9 – RBC Convention Centre, Winnipeg, MB

May 11 – Surrey Civic Plaza, Surrey, British Columbia


May 13 Esplanade Riel Bridge, Winnipeg, MB (yellow and green)


May 13 Winnipeg Sign, Winnipeg, MB (yellow and green)

Grateful for Community Support
We are deeply grateful to the towns and cities supporting Environmental Sensitivities Awareness during Illuminate Canada Yellow 2026. Your kindness and leadership mean so much, and your recognition helps bring visibility to those of us living with ES and to a community that is too often overlooked.
With over 30 proclamations being shared throughout the day, we are filled with gratitude to see this support growing and spreading.
The proclamations will be posted throughout the day with the full list last, so we can close the day by honouring where this work began and the people behind it.


The Heart Behind These Proclamations
In 2017, I was searching for a place to live that I could physically tolerate—before eventually living in a van on my doctor’s recommendation and then crossing to the USA to live in my van in the desert.
During that time, I brought forward research that deeply mattered to both my mom and me. She was serving on a resolution committee, and when I shared it with her, she took it seriously. The committee approved it, and it moved forward to the national level.
On the very day she was on her way to submit the resolution, her hip suddenly broke.
The hospital was just across the street, and she was rushed to Winnipeg. Even through intense pain, she had already given so much of herself to this work. She was heartbroken that she couldn’t be there to defend it—but I saw how much she had already fought.
The committee carried it forward as best they could.
After that, I kept going. I did everything I could to see it—or even a piece of it—come to life.
Around 2018, I approached several parties, I connected with the Manitoba Green Party and arranged a meeting. From there, with the foundation of my mom’s resolution and the help of Jenel from AANM, we created Petition e-2729 and brought it to the House of Commons.
In November 2020, with support from Roberta Bradley, a version of that work—still rooted in my mom’s original resolution—came very close to passing and was advanced into a workshop.
At the same time, I had been holding onto another idea—proclamations.
When I approached Marg Friesen from EHA Manitoba, she didn’t hesitate. She said, “Let’s do it.”
We drafted a proclamation based on my mom’s original resolution, using others as reference, and sent it out to more than 150 mayors and provinces across Canada.
Throughout all of this, my mom was living with chemical sensitivities and mold-related illness that went undiagnosed.
As she was preparing to move—because she could no longer tolerate her home—she developed pneumonia. After a failed thoracentesis, she passed away.
Watching her suffer without answers was incredibly hard.
Sitting beside her before she passed, and before we had to make the decision for a DNR, I made a promise—that I would carry this forward. That somehow, her resolution would live on.
Today, there are over 30 proclamations from mayors across Canada.
But this isn’t the end of the story.
There are still countless people living with chemical and electrical sensitivities and mold-related illness—still searching for safe housing, still going undiagnosed, still being dismissed.
This work is not finished.
If this story moves you, don’t just read it—please act on it.
Please share it. Talk about it. Bring it into your communities. Push for recognition, for safer spaces, for change.
No one deserves this silence. No story—including my mom’s—should fade unheard.
Together, we ensure they’re heard.

Image: Dorothy LeBlanc The Heart Behind the Proclamations



Science That Made This Possible
This year marks a historic milestone in Ottawa, where Dr. Meg Sears—author of The Medical Perspective on Environmental Sensitivities for the Canadian Human Rights Commission—received an official proclamation recognizing environmental sensitivities.
Years ago, Dr. Sears delivered one of Canada’s first comprehensive medical overviews of ES, moving it from the margins into science and human rights policy. Her work with Prevent Cancer Now continues shaping national conversations on health and inclusion.
Now in the nation’s capital, she’s witnessing her evidence become policy—one of over 30 proclamations across Canada. A true full-circle moment for the scientist whose research made today’s recognitions possible.
Thank you, Dr. Sears.

Image: Dr. Meg Sears The Science that made this possible



Over 30 Proclamations!!!!!

Grateful beyond words.
This is what community leadership looks like! 



ALBERTA – PROCLAMATIONS

Edmonton, Alberta Proclamation


BRITISH COLUMBIA PROCLAMATIONS

British Columbia Proclamation – Honourable Wendy Cocchia, Lieutenant Governor


MANITOBA PROCLAMATIONS


NEW BRUNSWICK

Saint John, New Brunswick Proclamation

NEWFOUNDLAND PROCLAMATIONS


NOVA SCOTIA PROCLAMATIONS


ONTARIO PROCLAMATIONS

Ottawa, Ontario Proclamation


PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND PROCLAMATIONS


SASKATCHEWAN PROCLAMATIONS

Province of Saskatchewan, Honourable Darlene Rowden, Minister of Environment
Regina, Saskatchewan Proclamation

Other Locations who approved proclamations

Okotoks, Alberta

Corner Brook, Newfoundland/Labrador

Cape Breton Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia

Kugluktuk, Nunavut

❤️

We have an international flair this year!


Featuring



Let’s Welcome Angelique Ashton (from the USA) who founded The Canary Project’s Illuminate America Yellow Initiative and Ginette Langevin (from Canada) – representing Collectif Santé sans produits parfumés – an international initiative entitled Multiple Chemical Sensitivity Global Empowerment, Awareness, and Reclaim Project and MCS Aware in the UK with their wear yellow and green campaign!



The Canary Project’s
Illuminate America Yellow initiative
founded by Angelique Ashton


This year’s Illuminate Canada Yellow campaign joins The Canary Project’s Illuminate America Yellow initiative, founded by Angelique Ashton in 2015. Born from personal experience after her husband’s diagnosis with multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS) in 2007, Angelique transformed awareness into action.

Through her creativity as an artist, jewelry and costume designer,
beauty queen, and advocate, she uses the visibility of her crown and platform to shine a light on environmental illness and chemical injury.

The Canary Project’s mission is to build a world that is as safe for the chemically sensitive as it is for everyone else—preventing chemical injuries while preserving consumer freedoms through grassroots education, strategic partnerships, and inspired action.

What began as a single lighting project in Seattle has now grown into a North American movement, Illuminate America Yellow, in collaboration with Illuminate Canada Yellow.

Together, they unite communities from coast-to-coast-to-coast, lighting landmarks in yellow this May to mark Environmental Sensitivities/Multiple Chemical Sensitivity Awareness Month—a bright symbol of inclusion, prevention, and hope for a healthier future.

Learn more at canary-project.com/illuminate-america.



Florida
City of Tampa City Center, Tampa
Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park, Tampa
Old City Hall, Tampa
Tampa Riverwalk, Tampa
River Tower Park, Tampa
Tampa Bridges, Tampa


Missouri
St. Louis Science Center Planetarium, St. Louis

Washington
Columbia Center, Seattle


#IlluminateAmericaYellow



Multiple Chemical Sensitivity Global Empowerment, Awareness, and Reclaim Project
by Ginette Langevin


We are pleased to present, fellow Canadian – Ginette Langevin, representing Collectif Santé sans produits parfumés. Ginette has launched an international initiative entitled Multiple Chemical Sensitivity Global Empowerment, Awareness, and Reclaim Project.

This global collaboration is dedicated to fostering international cooperation and promoting constructive, inclusive outcomes for individuals and communities. The project’s primary focus is on addressing the widespread use of fragranced products within health care institutions and residential buildings — environments that must be accessible and safe for all.

With millions of people worldwide affected by chemical sensitivities, this initiative seeks to reclaim the fundamental right to safe health care and safe housing. Through awareness, empowerment, and collaboration, participants aim to bring lasting change to public health practices and housing standards.

The accompanying photo collection presents individuals from around the world who are uniting under this cause, reminding us that awareness begins with visibility and shared understanding.



Website of the project : 
https://mcsscm-collectifsspp.com/

Facebook page for monthly activities/actions following the launch of the project : MCS-SCM-SQM plus
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61587818296598





MCS Aware in the UK
Wear Yellow and Green Campaign

Each May, culminating on 12 May – MCS Awareness Day, people across the UK and around the world come together to raise understanding, compassion, and visibility for those living with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS). This year, through our Wear Yellow & Green for MCS campaign, we’re inviting you to help bring that visibility to life.

https://mcs-aware.org/articles/mcs-awareness-2026-photo-gallery/?fbclid=IwY2xjawReYkJleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFvQlU1VDFjb3FkQXd1azJRc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHjNbaSipRpDNI8kPYSZKLAid20FkLE7iVgYUrMdQctxxcyl18PssO7vuFqW0_aem_5raKFWQmBePS-5OmSNS1JQ

FEATURED MUSICIANS in the 12 Days of Music (now 13)

We’re deeply honoured to kick off our “12 Days of Music,” featuring incredible musicians from the MCS community who have generously shared their talent with us.

We had 12 musicians, and one more said yes, so now we’ve got a bonus musician!

We invite you to take a moment to listen, support, and celebrate these beautiful musicians.


Day 1: Featured Musician Susan Abod 

We’re deeply honored to kick off our “12 Days of Music” with Susan Abod in Illuminate Canada Yellow 2026!

Susan’s soulful jazz and heartfelt lyrics capture the heart, reflection, and beauty of living with environmental sensitivities and multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS)— helping us express what words alone can’t.

Thank you, Susan, for lending your voice and artistry to our shared fight for visibility, compassion, and hope!

Homesong: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDwviyJcN50

Susan’s film Homesick: Living with Multiple Chemical Sensitivities is available on Kanopy.com thru public  libraries as well https://www.kanopy.com/en/santafelibrary/video/341630?frontend=kui

Her film Funny You Don’t Look Sick: An Autobiography of an Illness is available on Kanopy.com thru public  libraries as well https://www.kanopy.com/en/santafelibrary/video/341632?frontend=kui

A few graphs about Susan: https://susanabod.com/about/

Susan Abod

“One of Santa Fe’s Hidden Gems”

Santa Fe Reporter

Susan Abod, singer and songwriter creates a dynamic intimate show with fresh interpretations of familiar jazz and blues standards and original songs revealing her sense of humor and cabaret sensibilities. She was nominated outstanding female vocalist for excellence by Boston Cabaret’s Encore Awards.

Her most recent CD “What’s Not Wrong?” (2018) was nominated in 4 categories by New Mexico Music Awards. The album aired on KJAZZ, KUNM and other stations. “In the Moment” her first CD, was named outstanding debut album by Out-music. 

In the mid 1970s and 1980s, Susan sang and played bass with the Chicago Women’s Liberation Rock Band. Mountain Moving Day, with the New Haven Women’s Liberation Rock Band, was a pioneering feminist album released by Rounder Records, re-released as Papa Don’t Lay That Shit On Me.

Susan recorded and toured with Casse Culver, Willie Tyson and Robin Flowers at the infamous Michigan Women’s Music Festival. She produced concerts for Casse, Meg Christian and Margie Adam, and was music director for Willie Tyson’s albums: Debutante and Willie Tyson

She produced and wrote music for two award-winning video documentaries:  “Funny You Don’t Look Sick: Autobiography of an Illness” and  “Homesick- Living with Multiple Chemical Sensitivities (MCS)” about her own experiences living with CFS and MCS. 

Reviews

Susan Abod is a singer with a genuine smile in her voice. And I confess, “You’d Look Swell in Nothing” is one of those hook lines I wish I had written.      – Holly Near, singer/songwriter

The first time I heard Susan Abod sing, her honest, sumptuous voice carried me.         – Mary Jo Palumbo, Boston Herald

Fresh and innovative songwriting. Understated emotional power.  A gift for the listener.  

   – Rebecca Parris, jazz singer

Watch music videos

www.susanabod.com
susangabod@gmail.com


Day 2: Featured Musician  Olivia di Khetaa

Fellow canary Olivia di Khetaa—director of Canary Refuge, is a deeply talented artist, musician, and recent curator of art shows in Athens, Ohio. Experience her music meditation and explore the work of Canary Refuge:

https://canaryrefuge.org

Listen to Gloria Alleluia (from The Still Point [Disc 2] & The Still Point Meditation): https://canaryrefuge.org/music-meditation

You can also visit the homepage to learn more and sign up for her mailing list to stay connected.


Day 3 Featured Musician Maria Rizzo and Michael Tsangaris 

Maria and Michael come together at the intersection of art and breath, creating work that speaks for those too often unheard. Through Let Me Breathe, Michael’s raw vocals, guitar, and lyrics intertwine with Maria’s evocative visual storytelling, forming something both intimate and urgent.

Their collaboration is rooted in lived experience and quiet resilience — a shared commitment to illuminating Multiple Chemical Sensitivity and the invisible barriers it imposes. Each note, each frame, carries a clear and unwavering message: the right to breathe freely is not a privilege, but a necessity.

Together, they transform vulnerability into voice, and voice into something that lingers — a call for understanding, for change, and for the simple right to exist.

Maria Rizzo and Michael Tsangaris were creative collaborators who used music and visual storytelling to bring awareness to Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS).

Their project, Let Me Breathe, weaves Michael’s vocals, guitar, and lyrics with Maria’s visual direction into a powerful and deeply human expression of advocacy.

Though Maria has passed, her vision and spirit continue to resonate through their work — a lasting echo of resilience, artistry, and the enduring call to be seen, heard, and able to breathe.

You can watch Let Me Breathe here https://youtu.be/fUoyHd_qBHw? si=44EBZCwoKBIQi6cq

MCS Awareness Video by Maria Rizzo

https://seriouslysensitivetopollution.org/2021/05/12/mcs-awareness-video-bymaria-rizzo


Day 4 Featured Musician  Dianna Suslo 

Dianna Suslo is a medically retired social worker who lives in AZ and plays flute as a later in life hobby. Her music is inspired by the natural beauty of the high desert environment. She enjoys the quiet, meditative aspect of the solo native american style flute.

Snake Slithers  by Dianna Suslo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQsHgzANy_I


Day 5 Featured Musician  Heather Elisabeth 

 “I was born on a Marine base in Virginia and was four when my Dad retired from the Marine Corps and moved us to Japan as a businessman. I was raised mostly in Tokyo, although Pepsi transferred us to a suberb of Montreal for three and a half lovely years. I include this here because living outside of your native country influences a person profoundly. Culturally it’s an incredible experience, but can also be very challenging, as you lack a true native identity.

Music was and is my constant. My mother was an accomplished pianist and string player, and an amazing composer. She played her Steinway a lot when I was growing up, and introduced all four of her daughters to music at a young age, all of us singing in harmonies and taking music lessons. After two years of piano lessons, I knew I just wanted to write and sing and play songs that resonate with my creative flow. 

I also knew at age four after performing on the ship to Japan that performing is my passion, especially with other strong singers like my sisters and now my kids. I sang in choirs and musicals and at university received my degree in vocal performance.

All my life, I’ve expressed my joys, my pains and my beliefs through my songs, and professionally recorded about a dozen of my fifty plus compositions. Now in my mid sixties, living in southern Vermont, I am working on a musical and dramatic presentation of what it’s like to live with the daunting condition that is Multiple Chemical Sensitivities, with some humor in there as well. It’s been slow going, but I intend to finish the project after I move in 2026-27. Take Me Home is one of the songs in this endeavor, which I need to re-record when I am able. I also wrote a song about our beloved Earth which is not yet recorded, as it requires more than just myself in its presentation. It is called This Lovely Earth.”

Check out Heather’s song The Winds of Vermont:
https://youtu.be/BxEp-6v_ja0


Day 6 Featured Musician Paul D. Turgeon 

Paul D. Turgeon, a multi-instrumentalist with several years’ (apologetically) formal training on the accordion, has performed on stage with his band Idyll Eyes, as well as a number of other groups in the New England area. Paul has also done recording in his home studio for his projects and for projects of other musicians since the early 1980s. While no longer able to perform in public due to living with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, Paul continues to be involved in a variety of multi-media projects from his home studio.

In My Dreams 
https://youtu.be/WNdImyy1qWw

Melodrama, performed with Idyll Eyes
https://youtube.com/watch?v=I6ymtrwsBBw&si=qcfqC1Vq7z5Ht9NC

Iceberg
https://youtube.com/watch?v=pVDiwLlfFLg&si=2Te8ChYvTVBHcBmz


Day 7 Featured Musician Treesha de France 

Treesha de France is an artist, advocate, and former town council member who helped incorporate her community and played a key role in securing a federal Superfund designation to clean up local mine pollution. 

She wrote monthly MCS  research profiles for Chemical Injury Information Network for 20 years until they closed. 

Treesha continued her work through creative expression and advocacy, especially around multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS). Her life and art reflect resilience, purpose, and the spirit of a “Miss Understood Survivor.”

Treesha de France Miss Understood Survivor

https://treeshadefrance.bandcamp.com/track/miss-understood-survivor


Day 8 Featured Musician Chagall Sierra from the band Kirrivath! 

The song Seal Woman is inspired by Inuit legend via the storyteller Clarissa Pinkola Estés. The story is about a magical woman who becomes sick when her seal skin is stolen, and she can only become whole again by returning to the Ocean, her true nature. This song urges her to return to herself, to Nature, and is itself composed to feature a meditative ambience of healing sounds. I feel it’s a fitting song for MCS because in order to be healthy we have to live in a more natural way than others, without a lot of the products that are considered to be normal. We have to return to Nature to be whole. https://kirrivath.bandcamp.com/track/seal-woman

My musical project of Kirrivath was inspired by my childhood fantasy world. To me it represents hope for a better world, and the music I compose for this project reflects that. As someone who suffers from MCS myself, I hope to raise money for a safe place to live, not only for myself but for others.

https://kirrivath.bandcamp.com

The album is available on a “pay what you can” basis for those who love it.

Check out her music!


Day 9 Featured Musician Christian Marc Gendron 

Image sourced from https://www.electrosensibilitequebec.com/fr/notre-porte-parole

Christian Marc Gendron, a well-known singer and pianist, shares how he became electro-sensitive, how he manages the condition, and his goal to raise awareness and compassion. As spokesperson for Rassemblement électrosensibilité Québec, he and others discuss how daily life changes with electro-sensitivity.

He has also spoken publicly about his experience on TV and in interviews, while continuing a successful career in music, radio, and touring.

Link to the site his music is on:

https://www.electrosensibilitequebec.com/fr/notre-porte-parole

Next, click on electrosensible (in green) 


Day 10 Featured Musician Kim Palmer 

image sourced from https://www.eiwellspring.org/stories/KimPalmer.htm

We’re honored to share the music and story of Kim Palmer as part of this event.

Kim Palmer was an award-winning singer, songwriter, and keyboardist originally from Toronto, Canada. After developing Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS) following a gas leak, pesticide exposure, and other environmental triggers, Kim’s life changed dramatically. She spent her later years living in the desert in a porcelain trailer, seeking a safer environment.

Kim passed away on October 23, 2006 after a long and difficult journey—but her voice, creativity, and message live on through her music.

Her work continues to resonate deeply within the environmental illness community, offering both comfort and awareness.

Explore Kim’s music and story:

  • “Kim Palmer Was Allergic to the 20th Century”  

https://seriouslysensitivetopollution.org/2014/05/10/kim-palmer-was-allergic-to-the20th-century

  • Kim Palmer Facebook Page  

https://www.facebook.com/share/18k4ArPbpL/?mibextid=wwXIfr

  • Post from Kim Palmer’s Facebook  

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1KrqtwhwCF/?mibextid=wwXIfr

  • Music & Recordings (Google Drive)  

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B-xIvroNndiEb2plUVc0aW0zWnc?usp=sharing

  • “Allergic to the 21st Century” (Audio/Content)  

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B-xIvroNndiEUXRvY3I4Sldjekk

Kim may no longer be with us physically, but her music continues to speak—raising awareness, validating lived experiences, and reminding us we are not alone.


Day 11 Featured Musician Johnny Ray Hudson 

Johnny Ray Hudson is a multidisciplinary artist based in Spain, creating work that blends sound, mood, and visual depth into a deeply personal experience. His music is shaped by his reality—living with environmental sensitivities and mold illness— transforming those challenges into emotionally rich, atmospheric pieces. While residing in the Spanish wilderness, he channels isolation and resilience into his art, offering quiet, reflective works that feel both grounded and hauntingly intimate.

I Woke up Choking on the Morning Light

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5Z5pZsCnWg


Day 12 Featured Musician Dr. Ann McCampbell 

Dr. Ann McCampbell is trained in internal medicine. She has been a leading chemical sensitivity (MCS) and disability advocate for the past 30 years. After developing severe MCS in 1989, she became a leading consultant and activist. She formed and was chair of MCS Task Force for a long time, currently co-Chair of the Task Force. Link to Dr. Campbell’s website: http://www.annmccampbellmd.com/

Link to the song Quarantine Hair by Dr. Ann McCampbell and Susan Abod another talented musician with MCS  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M849c3Xr1v0


Bonus Musician – Featured Musician Jonathan Mirin and Carrie Ferguson

Today we’re honored to feature the powerful and creative work of Jonathan Mirin and Carrie Ferguson of Piti Theatre Company.
Their music blends heart, storytelling, and advocacy—bringing attention to environmental health, EMR sensitivity, and the lived experiences of those navigating these challenges.

Watch My New Phone:
https://vimeo.com/232413190?share=copy&fl=sv&fe=ci

Explore more music videos (scroll down):
https://www.hilltownhealth.org/music-videos/

Learn more about Piti Theatre Company:
https://ptco.org
They are also working to create an East Coast EMR-Safe Sanctuary, a vital initiative supporting those affected by electromagnetic radiation sensitivity.
If you’re able, please help amplify this effort by sharing:
https://ptco.org/bloom/community/
Let’s continue lifting up voices, art, and solutions that bring awareness and hope! 



ARTISTS


Angelique Ashton

Angelique Ashton from The Canary Project posted the photo of her with her bedazzled mask, which sparked interest from artists living with MCS.




Brenda Storey

Canary Fashion – Artist Brenda Storey
Brenda made this canary mask for a gallery exhibit during the pandemic to heighten awareness of the other reason people wear masks, because of sensitivities to everyday products people use.
Before she sent it to the gallery she put together this canary inspired outfit for a little photo shoot.


An important message was delivered through Brenda Storey’s 2019 Refashion outfit.

As spelled out on a manufacturer content tag used in the headpiece:
“FIRE RETARDANT CHEMICALS ARE A HEALTH HAZARD”

Brenda learned this in a big way when she spent money on a brand new living room set and wound up with crazy neurological pain (in her lower body in particular). Her living room looked lovely but she could not sit on the furniture.

Brenda Storey with Stratford Fashion Week https://www.instagram.com/p/DHpFHvSpM7J


Brenda Storey on Instagram: @brenda.storey.studio https://www.instagram.com/brenda.storey.studio/




Michel Dumont 

https://www.instagram.com/madbear67/?hl=en



Wendy Kearley

Water colour painting of a canary by Wendy Kearley



Julie Laffin 

Julie Laffin was an artist doing public spectacle performances in Chicago when she became disabled by environmental illness. Her condition forced her to reconsider her environment and the materials she was using, along with her working methods.

In 2005, she turned the camera on herself as a means of breaking the barrier of invisibility that comes with an extremely isolating illness. She has slowly been developing two bodies of photographic work since that time: one that focuses on her body in the larger environment and another that captures the details of her daily life while being largely homebound in northern Illinois.

Using collaborative strategies such as remote interactions and surrogacy tactics, she has been able to continue her work. Making trips to pristine, remote  places in the American Southwest, she has been able to work with materials that do not trigger her symptoms: soil, grass, mud, rocks. Joining forces with friends who are artists has enabled her to remain active and continue to be a part of an artistic community. Clover Morell, Melinda Honn, Julie Genser, Stephen Scott-Bottoms, Trevor Martin and Jennifer Natalya Fink have been instrumental in this cause.

In addition to numerous performances in Chicago and the midwest, Laffin’s work has been shown in New York at Franklin Furnace Archive, The Streetwise Festival of Live Art in Glasgow, Scotland, the New Art Gallery in Walsall, England, The Prague Quadrennial, The Dutch Theatre Festival, Kings College, London and the Jakarta Biennale #14, 2011.

Julie Laffin website: https://www.julielaffinartist.com

💛



#IlluminateCanadaYellow2026 #IlluminateCanadaYellow

#IlluminateAmericaYellow #MCSawareness #ESMCSawareness #EHSAwareness

#moldillness #fragrancefree #12DaysMCSMusic #12DaysofMusic

💛 Thank You for Illuminating Canada Yellow 2026! 💛

What an inspiring sight across Canada, the United States, and beyond. 🌟 This May, landmarks lit up in brilliant yellow to raise awareness for Environmental Sensitivities (ES), including Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS), Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity (EHS), and mold-related illness.

From coast-to-coast-to-coast, around 70 Canadian landmarks — alongside a growing number of American partners — stood in solidarity, shining a shared vision of a fragrance-free, inclusive world.

This impact was further strengthened by over 30 official proclamations recognizing ES/MCS Awareness across cities and regions. 🌍💛

💬 Our Heartfelt Gratitude
To everyone who helped bring Illuminate Canada Yellow 2026 to life — ✨ thank you. ✨

With special appreciation to:
Marg Friesen (Environmental Health Association of Manitoba), Dr. Meg Sears (Prevent Cancer Now), Ginette Langevin (Collectif Santé Sans Produits Parfumés), Angelique Ashton (The Canary Project – Illuminate America Yellow), Musicians and MCS Aware (UK).

We are also grateful to the organizations and networks who shared this initiative through newsletters and mailing lists, including Manitoba Eco-Network, Melinda from EHB bulletin, C4ST, MCS Aware and others who helped amplify the message.

Musical contributors who shared their voices and talents:
Olivia di Khetaa, Kim Palmer, Heather Elisabeth, Susan Abod, Maria Rizzo and Michael Tsungaris, Treesha de France, Dianna Suslo, Paul D. Turgeon, Chagall Sierra, Christian Marc Gendron, Johnny Ray Hudson, Dr. Ann McCampbell and Jonathan Mirin and Carrie Ferguson of Piti Theatre Company.

Community champions and supporters: ✨
Patrycia Rodríguez, Jon Mason, Wendy Kearley, Nancy Goodridge, Jenel Shaw (Arts AccessAbility Network Manitoba), Paul D. Turgeon, Shelley Petit, Murielle Pitre, Lynda LeMesurier-Boshcoff, EI Wellspring, Linda Sepp (Seriously ‘Sensitive’ to Pollution), Tom Freeman, Liz Smentowski, Kathie Wallace, Danielle C (Collectif Santé Sans Produits Parfumés), Barb Hopkins Payne, Kim Goldberg, Diane Cz, Sylvie from Rassemblement Electrosensibilite Quebec, @teribellarts, and @UnconveniEnceStore.

We also extend our thanks to the many mayors, city staff, organizers, and volunteers across both countries who helped light landmarks yellow and supported more than 30 ES/MCS Awareness proclamations.

Media and awareness opportunities included:
C4ST (Planet Thrive), CKUW 95.9FM (Wooden Spoons, April 24, 2026), and Michael Welch for raising MCS awareness in his radio program, CBC in BC did a story on lighting yellow.

To everyone who attended, supported, and helped spread the word — your involvement made a meaningful difference.

Special thanks to photographers who captured these powerful moments along with many others whose yellow photos and contributions helped bring this story to life.

With gratitude to Paul Morrissette, Connie Jensen, Luc Langevin, JoAnne Tatone, Kae Donais, the Rende Family, Madison Thorne, Carol Damioli, S. Ramsurran, Marc and Electromagnetic Pollution Illnesses Canada Foundation volunteer.

🌎 Keep the Light Growing

Though the lights dim, the message continues to shine. Together, we are building safer, fragrance-free spaces for everyone.

🔗 Learn more:
ehamanitoba.weebly.com
marieleblanc.net
📘 Facebook: @marieleblancartist

#IlluminateCanadaYellow #IlluminateCanadaYellow2026 #IlluminateAmericaYellow #MCSAwareness #EHSawareness #ESandMCSAwareness #ESMCSawareness #FragranceFree #moldillness

💛 Together, we’ve illuminated two nations and captured faces from around the world — and one shared light of compassion.

Map of locations in Canada the USA created by Angelique Ashton from The Canary Project

Google Map with locations of Landmarks:
https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/edit?mid=19YRVg-u5AksCsDIz2-hJu5opJF9nH0I&ll=51.0132986671619%2C-88.32632335&z=5

Poster created by Lynda LeMeseuriers-Boshcoff
Poster created by Lynda LeMeseuriers-Boshcoff

We are looking for photographers!
Start snapping your photos of something yellow!

Image Description: This is a poster calling for Canadian Photographers. The background is a dark blue and there are three images in circles of Canadian landmarks across the top. Below the images in yellow and white text states “Canadian Photographers Wanted! Illuminate Canada Yellow 2026. Amateur & Pros — Capture the Yellow Glow! • Over 50 Prominent Landmarks Across Canada • Sunset shoots, reflections, long exposures, yellow themes (May 1-12) • Tag #IlluminateCanadaYellow #IlluminateCanadaYellow2026. Join the adventure! Snap, share. Details & prompts:
Facebook Event: Illuminate Canada Yellow 2026 FB link:
https://www.facebook.com/share/1LETk7bZ6h/?mibextid=wwXIfr
More info: marieleblanc.net Environmental Health Association of Manitoba (https://ehamanitoba.weebly.com). Let’s light up Canada!


Canada to Shine Yellow
for
Environmental Sensitivities Awareness

Illuminate Canada Yellow 2026

#IlluminateCanadaYellow2026
#IlluminateCanadaYellow

Sponsored by the Environmental Health Association of Manitoba



This is an image of a yellow canary

We are the Human Canaries

How to Participate: 
throughout May

Show your support by wearing yellow

Lighting up your home or business yellow

Sharing photos of something yellow Photos can be shared on our event page or sent via Messenger


Photographers are welcome to volunteer in their communities to document participating landmarks—details to come.


Purpose: Throughout May, landmarks across Canada will be illuminated in yellow

  • Raise Awareness – Increase public understanding of Environmental Sensitivities (ES) and Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS).
  • Promote Empathy – Reduce stigma and foster compassion for those affected.
  • Advocate for Change – Support scent-free policies, improved healthcare access, and safe, low-tox housing.
  • Show Unity – Demonstrate Canada’s commitment to creating inclusive, healthy environments for all.



About Environmental Sensitivities (ES): ES includes conditions such as Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS), Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity (EHS), and mold illness. Individuals may experience severe reactions to common environmental triggers—like fragrances, smoke, or electronics—leading to significant barriers in daily life, employment, and housing.


The Hidden Crisis: Many Canadians with ES/MCS/EHS face homelessness due to the lack of safe, chemical- and Wi-Fi-free housing. Common exposures—such as cleaning agents, mold, or nearby cell towers—can make conventional housing uninhabitable. Some are forced to live in vehicles or outdoors, underscoring the urgent need for safe, accessible housing solutions.


Join us in raising awareness and advocating for safer environments for all Canadians.


For more information, visit the Environmental Health Association of Manitoba (EHA-MB).


#IlluminateCanadaYellow2026

#IlluminateCanadaYellow

#IlluminateAmericaYellow