Leap year babies breaking out the birthday candles
Posted February 28, 2016 7:00 pm.
Last Updated February 28, 2016 7:55 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Break out the birthday candles! After four years of waiting, leap year babies finally see their birth dates on the calendar.
“I’m having my 15th birthday. I’m old and wise before my time,” says Peter Brouwer, a Vancouverite who founded a website back in 1997 designed to bring together all those who were born on a day that only appears on the calendar every four years.
He says leap year babies share some headaches. “Our drivers licences have the wrong expiry dates. Insurance forms don’t accept February 29th.”
But they share some perks, like freebies on the website Attractions Tix. “The first 100 leap year babies to register get a free pass to an attraction,” he explains.
It wasn’t always so cool to be a leap year baby, but according to Brouwer a certain Ontario phone company changed that.
“It started with Blackberry. They had a ‘What are you going to do with your extra day’ promotion. It’s becoming a big day.”
And what will Brouwer himself be doing to mark the occasion? He’ll be in San Diego, taking in a free concert by a band that has penned a ballad about leap year.
Brouwer founded website LeapYearDay.com that features pictures, stories and songs that celebrate leap year babies.
Incidentally, Brouwer is actually turning 60.
