VISITORS to Arrow Valley Park are being invited to take home their own personal piece of Redditch history to mark two years since the first Covid-19 lockdown.
In a spontaneous public outpouring of positivity amidst the pandemic in 2020, thousands of locked-down residents left stones painted with positive messages for each other in Arrow Valley Country Park, forming a huge trail.
The trail inspired a permanent piece of artwork in the park, unveiled last year, with a rainbow installation made from the carefully-collected ‘positivity rocks’, along with a carved stone and commemorative plaque to mark the starting point of the original trail.
Now residents can celebrate and take home the remaining ‘positivity rocks’ at a special one-off community event in the park.
All are welcome to the lakeside by the Arrow Valley Visitor Centre on Sunday, March 20, from 1.30pm until 3.30pm, alongside the artists, sculptors and community groups who have been involved with the project.
The rock line started when a group of friends painted positive messages on stones and lined them up along a park path for people to find. It struck a chord, and the line went on to reach more 7,000 stones stretching across the 900-acre country park in the middle of Redditch.
Lauren Mernagh, aged 17, started the Redditch Positive Rocks Line.
She said: “We’re so excited for you to join us to celebrate two years since the Redditch Positivity Rockline, an event that brought the community together.
“So come along so we can meet the faces behind the rocks.
“Can’t wait to meet you all, thank you for all the support always!”
Around 1,000 of the positivity rocks were used in the rainbow art installation, and the remaining rocks will now be laid out at Sunday’s event for anyone who wants to take away their own piece of this unusual chapter in Redditch’s local history.
Portfolio holder for leisure Councillor Joanne Beecham said: “My thanks and congratulations go to Lauren for doing what she did and bringing the town together. For someone so young she is truly an inspiration.”
