No one knows where the Panda Rock yet resides.
This fun, fancy little rock, painted a tropical green and decorated with a panda and bamboo-shoot stickers, was found next to the cash register at Woody’s Cheesesteaks on Church Street (and photographed on the restaurant’s shady back porch). On the back, another sticker reads: “Yay! You found me! Please post a pic on FaceBook, HVL NC ROCKS. Keep or re-hide the rock.” Two weeks later, it was placed in the bathhouse of Van Hook Glade Campground in Highlands, and from there, who knows how far it may travel?
HVL NC Rocks is the local division of the Kindness Rocks Project, where folks are asked to paint rocks in a fun manner and “hide” them in accessible locales, spreading cheer and promoting connection. Choosing to re-home a found rock gives it a chance to be rediscovered over and over — and tracked accordingly. “Getting started is easy,” says local coordinator Joy Moore, though there are some loose rules — participants are asked not to take rocks from nature or any public property. Round river rocks, available at hardware and building-supply stores, are ideal, says Moore, who recommends inexpensive acrylic paint.
Decoration ideas are unlimited: “I have seen stickers and even rhinestone used,” she says. “Once painted and dried, it is best to use a clear acrylic sealer or Modge Podge to protect the painted rock from the elements.”
HVL NC Rocks “has grown to over 3,000 members,” reports Moore. “We have seen rocks travel all over the country and the world.”
See HVL NC Rocks on Facebook or thekindnessrocksproject.com.
