A silent rave for some. Dancing in tune, with love, for others

This story was first published in April 2022.

At Hot Sands Beach in City Park, dozens of people dance to their hearts desire in the sand by Okanagan Lake.

From a distance, it may even look like a small rave.

But upon closer inspection, that small rave isn’t actually playing any music - or so it seems.

Using wireless headphones and synchronized music, the Dance With Love tour aims to bring people together through the power of dance, and free expression.

Co-founder, Kerry Harwood, told Kelowna10 dancing with the headphones on is something anyone can do.

“This does take some courage to put headphones on and dance silently while strangers might look at you and think you’re a weirdo,” Harwood said.

The whole point of dancing in this fashion, he said, is to get people out of their comfort zone.

“We’ve had several people say [the headphones] change everything,” Harwood said.

The Dance With Love tour is planning on visiting 24 unique locations across Canada, bringing people together to talk about health, life, love, and community.

“We came up with the logo, we came up with the design, we came up with the name, and then decided to purchase 111 pairs of [headphones] and travel from Tofino to St. John's and back,” Harwood said.

It is completely free by donation to grab a headset, and dance.

“This is out of our pockets, out of our hearts,” Harwood said.

There are three different channels transmitted to the headphones, with music ranging everywhere from classic oldies to dubstep.

“Sometimes we’ll get seniors or couples coming through. [We] give them some nice folk, or some jazz, and they go for a stroll and enjoy the sunset,” Harwood said.

For Harwood, the main inspirations behind the tour is togetherness, love, joy, and safety.

“Hearing things from people crying tears of joy, to… one woman said the last time she had this much fun was 2012. I’ll let you guys be the pick,” he said.

Harwood added his favorite part is seeing people smile.

“Just beaming, real, authentic smiles from the heart.”