GREEN BAY and APPLETON, Wis. (WFRV)

Over the last few years, August 15th has gradually become “City Hall Selfie Day,” a day where citizens are encouraged to snap a picture of themselves in front of their favorite local government building.

“I think the idea is just to make it a little bit more accessible for people to check out City Hall, to engage in city government, and just a fun thing for us to do as employees of the city,” said Green Bay Mayor Eric Genrich. “And something for the community to engage in as well.”

In Appleton, resident Gerry Lambie made a new friend while taking her city hall selfie. Lambie was spotted by Local 5 taking a selfie in front of Appleton City Hall with Kaukauna resident Gary Schmidt.

“I knew that it was Selfie Day,” Lambie said. “I thought, instead of being by myself… I just thought I would, as (Schmidt’s) walking down the street, ask him if wanted to take a selfie with me… We’re proud of where we live, and we just want to let people know that we’ve got a great community here.”

City Hall Selfies can be taken inside or outside of a city hall or any other local government facility, and posted on any social media platform with the hashtag #CityHallSelfie.

“That’s really what the fun of it is, is for us to be able to share the photos that other people are taking, to see them sort of really just enjoying and being part of this community,” said Chad Doran, the city of Appleton’s Communications Coordinator.

City Hall Selfie Day isn’t just a Northeast Wisconsin phenomenon – local governments across the globe are encouraging residents to participate and post their pictures online.