Superheroes deliver birthday wishes to kids in Calgary amid COVID-19 outbreak

Even COVID-19 won’t stop Spiderman and Captain Marvel from celebrating Calgarians’ birthdays.

As residents continue to spend time physically distancing due to the pandemic, ComicTraders.ca — a Calgary-based comic store — is bringing the superheroes to residents’ neighbourhoods to offer free birthday wishes to kids in the city.

“We just started doing this as quarantine started.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We just started doing this as quarantine started.

“We thought it would be a fun thing to do to brighten people’s day a little bit by showing up in a shiny suit,” Kelly Adelvard — A.K.A Captain America — said in an interview with 770 CHQR.

“It’s a lot of fun. It’s exciting to see faces light up. When you see kids who have been in the house for weeks at this point, it’s pretty special.”

The store is offering both free home visits and FaceTime calls to kids in Calgary spending their birthdays at home.

ComicTraders.ca said the birthday visits and deliveries are handled on a first-come-first-served basis and noted that all visits will properly follow social distancing protocols laid out by the provincial government.

LISTEN: A Calgary-based store is sending super birthday messages to kids in the city

Within the first weekend, Adelvard said she and her superhero companion, Spiderman, already visited several children in the city.

“There are some little kids that didn’t know who I was, but still, when you show up in a shiny onesie, their faces light up, and neighbouring kids were coming out from other houses as well,” she said.

“As Captain Marvel, I like to stand there with my hands on my hips and I like to tell kids to wash their hands and follow the rules… and that you’re a hero every single day and you’re saving lives by staying home.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "As Captain Marvel, I like to stand there with my hands on my hips and I like to tell kids to wash their hands and follow the rules… and that you're a hero every single day and you're saving lives by staying home."

1:00 Calgary Fire Department launches ‘drive-by birthdays’

ComicTraders.ca is also offering superhero deliveries on all orders.

In a post on Friday, the organization noted that Spiderman and Captain Marvel are available for free drop-offs on orders of $75 or more, or for a fee of $19.95 on any other purchase.

“I think this will definitely become part of our services going forward. It’s a lot of fun and it feels really good to make people’s days a little bit brighter,” Adelvard said.