Won’t You Wear a Sweater?

When Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood made its debut on public television in 1968, Fred Rogers began each episode by singing, "Won’t You Be My Neighbor?" To celebrate his legacy of neighborliness, Family Communications Inc. (the non-profit that Rogers founded in 1971) is asking fans of the late Mister Rogers to don their own versions of his ubiquitous sweater today, Thursday, March 20 – what would have been his 80^th birthday.

"We're asking everyone, everywhere (from Pittsburgh to Paris) to wear their favorite sweater on that day," says David Newell, FCI’s public relations director and Mr. McFeely. "It doesn't have to have a zipper down the front like the one Mister Rogers wore on the program; it just has to be special to you."

Sweater Day is part of Pittsburgh's 250th anniversary celebration and the first-ever "Won't You Be My Neighbor?" Days in honor of Mister Rogers, a native of the area. You can show your kids what all the fuss is about at PBS' Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood page. Who knows? Maybe they’ll want to zip up their own cardigans, too.