UPDATE 1 p.m. Feb. 6: The world record-breaking attempt for largest heart formation is still on, rain or shine, on the Hutchison IM Field, 11:30 a.m. Friday (Feb. 7). Be there!

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By Dateline staff

UC Davis is good for the heart, physically and symbolically.

For examples of the latter, consider our heartwarming gesture for pediatric patients and their teddy bears, and an attempt to make the world’s largest heart formation — both happening this Friday (Feb. 7), UC Davis Wears Red Day.

Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi designated the special day to coincide with National Wear Red Day, the first Friday of every February, American Heart Month — a time to raise awareness of heart disease as the No. 1 killer in the United States, and to focus on prevention.

The Davis campus is hosting the heart formation, hoping for a turnout of 12,000 people to beat the 4-year-old Guinness World Record of 11,166. Students, staff, faculty and community members should start gathering at 11:30 a.m. on the Hutchison Intramural Field between La Rue Road and the west entry parking garage.

Afterward, everyone’s invited to the student-organized Battle Heart Disease Fair in The Pavilion at the ARC, from 1 to 4 p.m.

Earlier that day, the Build-a-Bear Workshop will visit the UC Davis Children’s Hospital in Sacramento. The children will select hearts for their bears, and UC Davis surgeons and medical students will sew up the bears after the hearts are put in place. (A patient’s father made the bear event happen, raising more than $1,800 in a week via an online fundraising site.)  

And everywhere you look on both campuses, you are likely to see people in red, including UC Davis’ special T-shirts (featuring the outline of a heart, in white, on the front). More than 4,000 had been sold as of Feb. 3.

We’ve got special red dresses, too, not for sale, but as another way to raise awareness, especially among young women who may think they are immune from heart disease. This is the fifth annual Red Dress collection to come from UC Davis design students.

You can see many of the dresses, dating back to 2010, during an evening event Feb. 7. Chancellor Katehi is hosting The Power of Red: Cocktails & Couture as a fundraiser for the UC Davis Women's Cardiovascular Medicine Program and the Department of Design.

AT A GLANCE

Guinness World Record

• Start gathering at 11:30 a.m., Hutchison Intramural Field, adjacent to the west entry parking garage, Davis campus.
• Please walk or bike.
• Or, if you want to come from the Sacramento campus, you can take a special shuttle bus: It will depart a special at 11:10 a.m. from the X Street transit center. The shuttle will remain until the end of the event and then return directly to the medical center. Boarding passes ($1.50 each way) can be purchased at the Cashier's Office, Parking and Transportation Services, or Parking Structure 3.
• Wear a special-edition UC Davis red T-shirt (details below) or something else red.
• You don't need to miss your lunch: food will be for sale (including heart-healthy options).
• Official photo-taking at 12:30 p.m.
• Use our Facebook event page to tell us you’re coming!

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Battle Heart Disease Fair, organized by the Alpha Pi Sigma sorority

• 1-4 p.m., The Pavilion (adjacent to the Hutchison IM Field).
• The program includes a welcome from Chancellor Katehi, and a talk by UC Davis alumna Jessica M. Núñez de Ybarra, M.D. ’97, a public health medical officer supervisor at the California Department of Public Health, addressing common heart-related illnesses and preventive measures.
• Information tables and health screenings, sponsored by various organizations.
• Zumba fitness program — join in with Shirley Pauline, a student who leads Zumba classes at the Activities and Recreation Center.
• Free and open to the public.
• Check out the Battle Heart Disease Fair Facebook page.

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The Power of Red: Cocktails & Couture

• 5-7 p.m., Yocha Dehe Grand Lobby, Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts.
• Signature cocktail (and a mocktail, too), heart-healthy hors d’oeuvres, and jazz by the Doug Pauly Trio.
• $100 per person ($75 is tax-deductible).
• For more information, contact Ceremonies and Special Events, (530) 754-2262.

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UC Davis heart T-shirts

• Short-sleeved in adult and youth sizes, $5.
• Long-sleeved and women’s V-neck (short-sleeved), $8.
• $1 from every sale goes to the UC Davis Women’s Cardiovascular Medicine Program.
• Available at all UC Davis Stores, including the Sacramento branch.
• You’ll also be able to buy the shirts on the Hutchison IM Field around the time of the giant heart formation.
• Extra bonus (good on Feb. 7 only): Wear your shirt and you’ll get discounts at all UC Davis Stores and in all dining commons (for heart healthy meals, of course).

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UC Davis Health System

• Resource fair
• Half-hour walk
• 20-Minute Heart Talks
• Heart-healthy meal options
• More information

Online

Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi's UC Davis Wears Red Day announcement.

Feb. 7 isn't just about wearing red: The chancellor is encouraging departments to showcase their work against heart disease. Tell us what your unit is doing.

Record-breaking heart formation: Use our Facebook event page to tell us you’re coming!

Alpha Pi Sigma’s Battle Heart Disease Fair is also on Facebook.

The Heart Truth (National Institutes of Health)

Go Red for Women (American Heart Association)

Men and Heart Disease (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

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