Sidewalk chalk full of good vibes thanks to Vancouver man's 'Positivity Zone' project

You know you're entering Patrick Klugh's "Positivity Zone" on Vancouver's Robson Street as soon as you see the message written in colourful chalk on the sidewalk: 

"You are entering the Positivity Zone."

What follows is about 25 metres of sidewalk covered in the 42-year-old's chalk-written messages — all colourful, and very positive.

Klugh has made the space his own — though he's happy to share — since he moved to Vancouver from Victoria in April last year.

He arrived to take part in the annual 4/20 cannabis celebration, and wound up staying in the city. He usually stays at friends' houses, but has also spent time living on the street.

Klugh passively panhandles near Bute Street, surrounded by his messages and the passers-by who mostly seem to enjoy the mood he's set.

"It's work. It's a lot of work. But just watching the people enjoy it is worth it — just sitting and having a coffee and watching people taking photos," said Klugh, who spends about eight hours at his spot most days.

Klugh's messages are mostly quite simple. He found some of them elsewhere, and came up with some himself.

When it rains, it all gets washed away, and Klugh has to start fresh once the sidewalk dries up. He often comes back to the same messages he's been using for months, things like, "You are awesome," and, "You really rock, own it." 

Klugh has tried to get a busking licence from the City of Vancouver — he considers the sidewalk chalk a type of performance — but he was rejected.

It's a busy stretch of Robson and people are constantly stopping to snap photos. Many of his messages have been posted on social media.

"I've seen Patrick here for a long time and he's been doing this awesome art here on the street for months and months," said O'Neil Warner, who posted about Klugh and his work on Reddit this week, drawing hundreds of upvotes.

"I saw the 'Good Vibes' yesterday when I was walking up, but all of this is super positive stuff," he said.

"It was a nice, feelgood, fun thing. A lot of the stuff on Reddit is kind of toxic, and this is a good thing and it got a great response."

Klugh considers the entire display a form of art, but he's modest about his technical abilities.

"The smiley face is the extent of my drawing capability. I like words," he said.

He'll let other people borrow his chalk — if they ask first — and draft a positive message, but he vets their work. He won't allow any personalized comments, or political or religious content. Klugh says everything needs to be for everybody.

The adjacent businesses seem happy to have Klugh there. They've come to know him and his chalk work.

But Klugh says there were a few "hiccups" early on, with private security guards trying to get him to move along.

"In my general life, oh yeah, there's negative, there's positive. but I choose to stick to the positive," he said. 

Klugh dreams of taking his "Positivity Zone" idea and running with it. He wants to start some sort of business — a restaurant or store — by the same name, where people can spread their positive messages with a stick of chalk and a smile.

Follow Rafferty Baker on Twitter: @raffertybaker