Over the weekend before Thanksgiving, hundreds of door hangers with chalk were distributed around Lafayette, Louisville, and other areas of Colorado by around a dozen families for a new public art project titled, “Chalksgiving.”
Along with their families, Lafayette resident Jackie Hobbins and Louisville resident Christy Kohler started Chalksgiving as a way for neighbors to celebrate what they’re thankful for by writing or drawing it in chalk outside during the week of Thanksgiving. The project is sponsored by Community Physical Therapy and Wellness, a Louisville business.
“The practice of gratitude is scientifically proven to improve mental health and well-being, something we could all use more of right now,” read an email from Hobbins. “Our two families hope the artwork helps people feel connected to their neighbors and gives you some warm fuzzies that are hard to come by these days.”
Hobbins said the project started as a way to bring the community together safely and improve the mental health of residents around the area after a hard year. With Hobbins being a potter and Kohler working as a physical therapist, they decided to combine art and well-being for a safe, art-forward activity.
“I see a lot of patients with chronic health issues and though I can help them physically, I know how much mental health plays a role with chronic pain,” said Kohler. “Chalksgiving gives everyone’s mental health a boost in a time where we need it most. I also love this opportunity to help my kids see that they have the power to make other people happy.”
Graphics on social media and door hangers with attached chalk that were distributed throughout the area helped get the word out about the project. According to Hobbins, they had three families distribute roughly 400 door hangers in Coal Creek Village. Hobbins and her family were out for about an hour and a half, doing about 200 of them.
Neighbors could write or draw out whatever they wanted, as long as it wasn’t political. Hobbins said they wanted the project to focus on things everyone can get behind and move beyond the election, recognizing that not everyone in Boulder County is pleased with the results.
Residents have written they are thankful for their family, their neighbors, their health, doctors and nurses, masks, their pets and their homes. One of Hobbins’s favorites read, “I am thankful for my cat, Beware of cat army!”
“I haven’t met someone that wasn’t happy about what we are doing,” Hobbins wrote in an email. “The response has been overwhelmingly positive. I think people are happy to have a positive way to connect to others.”
Hobbins stated Chalksgiving will become an annual tradition for the Kohler’s and her family. She would like to get more people involved next year and have more time to plan ahead. Residents can go to happygogive.com/chalksgiving to be a part of future projects.
“My favorite thing about art is that it changes hearts and minds,” Hobbins said. “Chalksgiving is no different. So many people have thanked us for doing this and I hope it inspires people to come up with their own ways of bringing people together during 2020 and beyond.
“We can do this.”
