NEWBERRY — Willowbrook Park got a little bit more colorful after the recent Paint in the Park event, which encouraged community members to come out and literally paint the park.
“All of this came through via my efforts and the artists in Newberry Made. They are a group of like-minded artists who saw the need and wanted to give back to the community through the arts. They realized the West End was a perfect starting point,” said Councilperson Jackie Holmes. “After numerous meetings, presentations and discussions, we came up with Paint in the Park as a way to get children involved in the community and give them a jump-start to their spring break. The overall idea was to give the kids in the community a sense of pride and ownership in their park.”
Willowbrook Park (714 Crosson Street) is located right across the railroad tracks from downtown, Holmes said they picked the park as a bridge to connect downtown with the park.
Holmes said meetings were held with Scott Sawyer, director of Parks Recreation and Tourism, Tim Baker, Utilities director, City Manager Matt DeWitt and Mayor Foster Senn. The West End Neighborhood Group was also involved in the planning.
“We all came together and presented what we wanted to do, and they got on board,” she said.
During the day, almost nothing was off limits to be painted. While a lot of rocks were decorated, including one giant rock donated by Misty West, the youths and volunteers painted the railings, playground equipment, basketball court (including the backboards), etc.
“Pretty much everything was painted,” Holmes said. “They said the paint will be there a while, they picked quality paint. Over the years, it may need some touch-ups, but that’s it.”
A special addition was also added to the park during the day — not counting the giant rock. Holmes said Willowbrook Park is now part of the Newberry Quilt Trail, with a patch added to the scout cabin.
“Trica Price gave a picture of a pattern to the art group. The quilt was made by her grandmother (Louise Merchant Rister), in the mid-1930-1940s. The unveiling of this quilt pattern officially put Willowbrook Park on the Newberry County Quilt Trail Registry,” Holmes said.
Along with the painting, Holmes said they had a massive egg hung with over 500 eggs.
The number of participants during the day was too many to count, Holmes said they were giving out tickets for lunch and after they got past 100, they stopped counting. The groups and volunteers were also numerous, with multiple student organizations from Newberry College coming by to assist.
As well as Newberry Made and Misty West, some of the entities that helped make this possible included Earth Safe Finishes, Willingham & Son’s Building Supply, The Color People and the City of Newberry.
“The City of Newberry contributed some funds to make this a successful day, and local businesses helped as well. We could not have done this without them,” Holmes said.
This may not be the last time Paint in the Park happens, but it will take place at another park. Holmes said they are hoping to move this around to the various parks within the City of Newberry.
“Personally, this project is important to me because the children will be able to come and decorate their park and take pride in their additions to their home,” said Robert Matheson, Newberry Made. “Being able to embellish the park, especially by the people who use it, is very special to the West End. Color makes you happy. It is good for your health. Seeing that and knowing your friends and family helped to paint is uplifting.” he said.