The forecast for next Friday is umbrella weather, and the WillMar Center for Bereaved Children couldn’t be happier. Rain or shine, some 600 volunteer artists – bearing their own umbrella hand-painted with a personal message of peace and unity – will be out for a 4 p.m. stroll on Sonoma Plaza.
“This is a time for unification and collaboration,” said WillMar’s Barbara Cullin, coordinator of the center’s “Umbrellas for Peace” project. As a symbol of safety and strength, she explained, the umbrella is a wonderful medium to convey the hopes, dreams and wishes of each artist.
The colorful stroll is a free “a gift to the community,” and a way to raise awareness of WillMar.
The creative process is just plain fun, too. This month Cullin has coordinated painting sessions with youngsters from area grade schools, Hannah Boys Center, Boys & Girls Club, the Mentoring Alliance and more. She brings the umbrellas, paint and idea; the artist supplies the expression.
While most of the participants are young, others – like those earlier this week at the Vintage House – were made to feel like it.
“It’s like I’m back in kindergarten,” exclaimed Luci Valletta, applying a pink squiggle to her blue umbrella. As an art student at Vintage, she was intrigued by the project. Silver Hall was there for the communal fun but, as a former bereavement counselor himself, knew the project would heighten awareness about WillMar Center. ”There’s a need for the community to be aware of what they do,” he said.
Cullin said she is “totally tickled” by the positive response to the project, from artists and organizations to donors of paint and supplies.
Chicago artist Matt Lamb, who will be a special guest at the April 24 Sonoma stroll, created the initial “Umbrellas for Peace” in response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. He began with a workshop for 38 children who had lost their parents in the attack, each of them expressing their feelings on the umbrellas. The workshop was followed by a parade of the children carrying their umbrellas, and the umbrellas were shown on Capitol Hill. The project has since spread around the world.
While some organizations have used the umbrella project to raise money, “that’s not the point here,” said Cullin. “The point is getting out and meeting all these cool people.”
The Umbrella Stroll, sponsored by WillMar Center for Bereaved Children, will take place at 4 p.m. on Friday, April 24 on Sonoma Plaza. The free event starts at the Grinstead Amphitheater, near the park’s northeast corner. For more information visit willmarcenter.org.
