The Batavia Parks Foundation, which has been celebrating the United Nations International Day of Peace on Sept. 21 the past few years, elected to recognize the day differently this year with a pop-up event on Saturday at Riverwalk South Plaza near the Peace Bridge in Batavia.
Organizers said for some time, community members have been painting more than 1,000 rocks for the new Peace Garden at the plaza.
Britta McKenna, president of the Batavia Parks Foundation, explained that “the last two years we’ve had Batavia Peace Day on Sept. 21 and that the first year it was really about bringing awareness to the Peace on Earth bridge and raising money.”
“Last year, we were actually finishing up the project and expanded the event and invited a lot of non-profits to come in and paint rocks and enjoy some dancing. Unfortunately, a lot of it was rained out,” McKenna said. “This year, our team just decided to downplay and focus on building the Peace Garden that is there on the south plaza and we just installed it last Friday (Sept. 13). It’s ready and fresh to actually have our rocks – we’ve been checking and we actually have 18 or 20 groups from preschool to senior citizens to non-profits and Rotary who have checked out our rock kits and returned them to us.”
McKenna said in the past week, foundation members have spent time “sealing the rocks” using an “eco-friendly” sealer.
“We sealed over 1,000 rocks and we’re going to have some activity tables to paint and selling shirts hosted by our Parks Foundation, and we’ve invited all the groups who painted the rocks to come and place their rocks in the ‘River of Kindness’ (at the garden) for International Peace Day,” McKenna said.
The event included a few remarks from foundation members, followed by the finding and placing of rocks by those who had painted them.
“We did have artists from the community – we’ve got about 10 rocks painted by artists that are a little larger and they’ll be part of our larger cobbles that are in the garden as well,” McKenna said.
Batavia Parks Foundation board member Erin Pittman of Batavia said although she has “been on the board for only a year I’m so excited” about the Peace Garden rock project.
“My daughter has participated in multiple rock-painting activities at her kids’ club in the summer and pop-ups throughout Batavia and it’s been really cool for her to come and pick out her rocks and put them in the River of Kindness,” Pittman said.
Heidi Benson of Batavia was one of the artists who painted rocks for the garden including one with a butterfly she was holding before the ceremony on Saturday.
“Painted rocks make people smile,” Benson said. “If you paint a positive message, it’s even better.”
Benson said the rock-painting project promoted engagement with the Peace Garden.
“I think it’s great. I think it’s great fun to try and find the rock you painted and it makes you feel like you are a part of it,” she said. “It’s just a small piece of something you can do and move on with your day.”
Tiffany Warmowski of Oakbrook Terrace was one of the visitors who just happened to stop by on Saturday for the event.
Her son Nico, 10, elected to paint two rocks right on the spot at the work station set up by the foundation and said he was going to keep one for himself and put the other in the garden.
“I’m keeping my gold one and putting the other in the Peace Garden,” he said. “I think this is a cool idea.”
David Sharos is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
