March 28, 2024

RAGBRAI Rocks!

Arboretum gets into ‘Aloha’ spirit with rock painting

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The Newton Arboretum and Botanical Gardens hosted its monthly Rock Painting Party Wednesday evening, but this year it came with a twist.

With RAGBRAI right around the corner, the party had the state-wide bike ride, along with Newton’s personal theme “Aloha Mahalo,” serving as the inspiration for the artists gathered at the gardens.

The concept of rock painting is simple — go buy paint, get some brushes, smooth stones and a little bit of imagination to create some wonderful works of art with the hard pieces of earth serving as the canvas. The rocks are then hidden, with the anticipation of the stones being found with their message of kindness, or RAGBRAI, painted on. A Facebook page is available for users to upload a picture of the found rock. The person who finds it must locate a new hiding spot.

Jamie Sawin, secretary of the nonprofit Project Awake which manages the Arboretum, said she has been leading the rock painting class for about a year. The idea came to her from a news story about a similar rock painting event in Ohio, part of the trending “Kindness Rock” movement, and she wanted to bring it to the Newton Arboretum.

“We talked about it at our board meeting, and we decided to give it a shot. We started last February,” Sawin said.

Newton is finding ways big and small to get into the RAGBRAI spirit, and the addition of painted rocks gives tired bike riders something leisurely to do as they stroll through the flowers and enjoy the arboretum.

The draw to rock painting, she said, is its simplicity and how it gets people, especially children, away from technology for a little while and use their imagination in a more tangible way.

Like RAGBRAI, rock painting can add a sense of family between strangers. She gave an example of three elderly women who visited the class from a local senior care facility. They entered as strangers and left with a room full of friends.

“It was heartwarming to me to watch the rest of the group interact with these ladies, one of whom was non-verbal but was full of spirit,” Sawin said. “By the end of the night, everyone was interacting with her.”

Sawin said it is a good activity for the children since there is no wrong way to paint a rock and any contribution is positive.

Vickie Carson-Liston saw the rock painting party on Facebook and decided to go for fun. She brought her granddaughter Hallie, who she thought would enjoy it as well.

She said they were having fun while adding a little bit of themselves to the community.

“It is kind of a fun thing to involve the community in and welcome RAGBRAI to Newton,” Carson-Liston said.

Contact Samuel Nusbaum at 641-792-3121 ext. 66533 or snusbaum@newtondailynews.com