By Kate Quesada
Walking around local parks, pathways and walking trails over the last couple of months, residents may have noticed brightly decorated rocks hidden in various spots. These works of art may have been created by members of the local groups including the #FishhawkRocks group which has joined in on a phenomenon sweeping the nation, rock painting and hiding.
FishHawk resident Kim Santucci created the FishHawk Rocks Facebook page in April after a relative added her to the “Palm Harbor Rocks” group in Pinellas County.
“I had no idea what it was all about, I had never heard of doing this,” said Santucci. “It turned out this was actually a nationwide movement going on simply to make people smile.”
After Santucci created the group, she asked about 30 people to join right away and within hours membership grew, reaching 850 by mid-June.
Santucci’s directions to members are simple.
“You take a rock, paint it however you’d like and write on the back of it ‘FishHawk Rocks’ and then hide it in a public place somewhere in the area,” she said. “When you find a rock, you take a picture of it to post it on the group page, then you can choose to keep it or re-hide it. It is as simple as that. It is so much fun to see how excited kids get when they find a rock. Most of them choose to keep them, but then they go home and paint their own to hide.”
The Facebook page is very active with daily posts from members with pictures of rocks they have hidden and hints on locations in addition to smiling pictures of the finders of the beautiful rocks.
Another way members have embraced the trend is with rock painting parties with preschools, moms’ groups and scout troops. Some people also post on social media with the hashtag #fishhawkrocks, so that rock pictures are easily searchable.
“I think the FishHawk Rocks idea is awesome,” said FishHawk resident Kristin Kenny, mother to Braydon (5) and Grace (9). “The kids and I regularly go out for walks or bike rides hunting for hidden rocks. It definitely creates a sense of community and is just another reason why I love living in FishHawk.”
Search “FishHawk Rocks” or #FishHawkRocks on Facebook to join the group or for more information.
