Winter solstice parade marks start of Community Art Boxes project

People getting ready for the Winter Solstice lantern parade. Rebecca Richard

CAPE ELIZABETH – Thomas Memorial Library buzzed with activity on Dec. 21, offering a diverse range of events to celebrate the winter solstice. Kicking off the day, “Therapeutic Horticulture for the Winter Solstice” provided the opportunity for participants to connect with nature.

Led by registered horticultural therapists Laura Simonds-Rumpf and Colleen E. Griffin, the event focused on the healing power of plants and their ability to foster well-being, mental health, and community bonds.

The library initiated its grant-funded Community Arts project with a winter solstice evening parade around the town center. Supported by a grant from the American Library Associations’ WRITING CHANGE Initiative, the project aimed to foster civil engagement through community based arts projects.

As the day transitioned into evening, the library set up an area for creativity to kick off the launch of the Community Art Boxes project. Participants, some of whom had attended lantern-making workshops in recent months, added their lantern to the procession. “I liked making the lantern; I got a stick taller than me,” said one of the young participants.

making paper lanterns for the winter solstice parade Rebecca Richard

The event had colorful cups, glitter stickers, and tissue paper to create paper lanterns. Each person had a pipe cleaner to make a hook on the top of the lantern, and then placed a hook inside the lantern for a tiny light bulb. There were various sized sticks collected to use to hang the lantern for the walking parade. Several girls shared their enjoyment, saying that they liked decorating the cups and adding all the stickers and tissue paper.

The winter solstice evening parade, began at 6 p.m. The attendees walked through a route visiting five strategically placed Community Art Box locations around the town center: the entrance to the library, town hall, Village Green, police department and the Community Center.

The debut exhibit featured artwork created by community members throughout the year. The artwork was displayed in the Community Art Boxes. People were encouraged to submit related objects, short pieces of writing, printed photographs, and audio or video clips, to enrich the viewer’s experience.

Paper lanterns for winter solstice parade. Rebecca Richard

The collaborative effort between Library Director Rachel Davis, local artist Marie Ahearn, and the library’s engagement with the WRITING CHANGE initiative showcased the library’s commitment to fostering community connection through the arts. The project was developed through training sessions with 11 libraries nationwide. Thomas Memorial Library was selected as one of 12 institutions nationwide for the WRITING CHANGE initiative.

Davis explained the collaboration with Marie Ahearn: “Marie and I had worked together on several art projects at the library in the past. When the American Library Association put out a call for librarian/artist partnerships to help them develop a pilot project, I invited Marie to attend the information session.”

The project involved two day-long training sessions over Zoom, with all participants contributing insights. “We all learned from each other and were inspired by each other’s different challenges and perspectives through this process,” Davis said.

Davis said some libraries came up with community theater projects, others were music-based, and others held improv classes.

“Marie and I were focused on visual art, and we developed our idea for installing mini art galleries around the town center that would display themed displays of artwork created by community members,” Davis said. She said they decided to specifically gear the workshops toward adults. “Adults seem to lose that sense of playfulness, and don’t feel they have permission to experiment the way children do, to express themselves artistically. In the words of Picasso, “’Every child is an artist.’ The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up. We hope to bring out that sense of expression, creativity, and storytelling in adults through art,” Davis said.

The choice of a winter solstice evening parade held significance.

“We wanted to have an event that would bring people together to see each of the boxes, and could be something that we host annually as a type of community celebration,” Davis said. She said they were inspired by the concept of WaterFire in Providence, Rhode Island, and Ahearn came up with the idea of a lantern festival.

“We needed for the event to happen after dark, and so we planned it for fall or winter when it gets dark earlier,” Davis said. “Trying to find a date, the idea of coinciding with the winter solstice made so much sense – the shortest day of the year, and the point in the year that marks a new beginning as days begin to get longer and we begin to see more light.”

She said for the first set of exhibits, they decided to showcase examples of the different works created at the monthly workshops during the past year. “We will change out the exhibits every couple of weeks so that all of the art that participants brought in for our inaugural display will have an opportunity to be seen,” Davis said.

Davis also outlined the vision for the project’s impact: “We hope that the Community Art Boxes become a type of local attraction, that people will look forward to seeing each new set of exhibits, and that maybe people from other communities might come to Cape Elizabeth to enjoy them as well.

“We wanted to encourage people to walk around the town center, to make it a more vibrant destination, and to create opportunities for people to meet one another and engage in impromptu discussions, to encourage community building. With the addition of the sidewalk that connects the area in front of the police station to the Community Center, it seemed a perfect opportunity to create destinations along a pedestrian path to encourage people to get out and walk and see what’s in the boxes at any given time.”

Davis discussed plans for future projects and expansions of the Community Art Boxes initiative. “We have been holding art workshops for the past year in preparation for the installation of the boxes, and we plan to continue to do so,” she said. “In the future, we hope to explore a different theme, art prompt, or concept each month, putting out a call for art to go in the boxes. People do not have to create art at our workshops in order to participate, but we plan to continue to offer them to help offer guidance and inspiration. We also plan to create a creative space in the library that equipped with paints, pencils, collage materials, all kinds of art media. People will be able to sign out this space for a period of time to play and experiment with creating art.”

For more information about upcoming events and the Community Art Boxes project, visit www.thomasmemoriallibrary.org/.