If you happen to notice a rock with a little more artistic flare than the usual ones you see, don’t panic, it’s an invitation to be a part of game that has been going on for years.
You’ll be seeing a lot more of these brightly coloured rocks around town in the coming months as Leanne Punko and her friends held a rock-painting get-together at the home Abby Keyes last week.
About a dozen women and their children gathered at the Keyes’ home Oct. 24 to paint the rocks that will be hidden throughout the region with the hashtag #westlockrocks written on their undersides.
“We’re painting rocks for community spirit,” said Punko. “We’re going to hide them around town as kind of a way to get people out and about finding something beautiful in nature.”
The game has been taking place at locations around the world for many years, but Punko thought it would be a good idea for Westlock after she saw residents in her hometown of Fort McMurray taking part.
“It’s just a way to get people together sometimes, or even as your own creative outlet,” said Punko.
The idea is to paint a rock and hide it somewhere in the community. Hopefully someone else finds the rock.
“Then they have a choice,” said Punko. “They can either take it home and keep it because they love it so much or they can re-hide it for someone else to be blessed ... If they decided to keep it, they would paint another rock in its place.”
“It can really brighten someone’s day. And it gets the kids excited too because you can go for a walk today and find a rock.”
The #westlockrocks hashtag will come in handy to try to trace the rocks’ travels throughout the community, the region and maybe even the world, said Punko. It also signifies that these particular rocks are part of the game.
