Located about an hour and 15 minutes away from the heart of Charlottesville, families of Culpeper County, Virginia have found a new way to build and share their creativity with others throughout the community through a community project, CulpeperRocks.
CulpeperRocks is a community centered project where citizens of Culpeper County paint rocks with different designs and positive messages and leave them around for others to find. Once someone finds a rock, they can choose to keep the rock, leave it or replace it with another captivating creation.
Founded by Teresa Carr Altman and her family after seeing a similar community movement on a visit to Sanford, Florida, CulpeperRock’s goal is to “spread the movement further…hoping to reach all communities!” With over 4,000 members on the CulpeperRocks Facebook group, members of the community post pictures of rocks they have found or of rocks they have created. “Rocks are being hidden everywhere, from downtown, to parks, to residential areas, and even outside of our community,” Altman shared.
In fact, the CulpeperRocks movement has gotten so popular that people are leaving their rocks all over. “People are painting and taking/hiding rocks while on vacation to let others know we were there and to spread some Culpeper joy to other communities,” said Altman.
Not only is the movement a fascinating way for the citizens of Culpeper to express their creativity, but the movement is also bringing people together in unexpected ways. Altman noted many fascinating stories of the rocks bringing people together. “One lady helped a man who lost his wallet. She found the wallet when looking for rocks and was able to talk to some locals to find out who the man was and was able to return his wallet.” Additionally, while searching for rocks “[a]nother person was able to assist a woman whose car stalled and helped to clear it from the road,” said Altman.
With such a positive response from the community, Altman hopes that the CulpeperRocks movement will continue for years to come. “Who doesn’t need a pretty rock to make their day? And painting as an adult, I find therapeutic. It’s a win for everyone,” Altman explained.
If you are interested in seeing more of the rocks created by the Culpeper community, or if you want to find out more about the movement, visit the CulpeperRocks Facebook group at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1698566573790519/?ref=br_tf.
We’ve even hidden a few in Charlottesville as well!