Storefronts up and down 2nd Avenue in Fernie will be decorated with art created by Fernie’s youngest and brightest residents this week.
More than 200 kids from seven childcare centres in Fernie have created colourful little houses that are all about what home means to them.
The art show is themed ‘What out homes mean to us after a year of pandemic, through the eyes of children: Staying closer to home,” and was coordinated through local business JK Mechanical.
Michelle Senior of JK Mechanical said that as a local business, they’d felt a lot of incredible community support through the year, so wanted to give back in some way.
“JK Mechanical has felt the tremendous commitment from this community to come together and as a company we hope to continue to seek out connections between the our industry, the downtown business and our community. The art show provides an awesome opportunity to support each other as we continue to push through this pandemic and hopefully bring a smile to those who walk downtown to view what the children have created,” said Senior.
The houses - which are all shapes and sizes - were made using scrap materials from houses currently being constructed in Fernie. The parts were donated by local contractors JK Mechanical, Sheepdog Construction, Black Pine builders, LWE builders, Graceland Builders and Jordan Earl Contracting.
“These pieces of wood and plumbing materials have been transformed into little homes by children in seven different childcare centres,” said Senior.
“Each centre has worked independently with these supplies so each house is truly a work of art.”
Each little home is accompanied by a short quote by the child that created each piece.
“I wanted to hear how this last year with all of the changes and challenges have been for the young children in our town. What part of their home has come to mean so much to them, how do they feel about mom or dad working from home, or are there new things they have discovered about staying closer to home that they want to share with us?”
Jodie Parker of Fernie StrongStart - one of the childcare centres that was involved in the art show said that Senior’s efforts to coordinate the show were inspiring.
“Even though she’s got a plumbing company to run, her heart is with the community.”
The little homes will be on display all of this week is seven storefronts on 2nd Avenue in Fernie: Studio 572, Freyja Kootenay Boutique, Polar Peak Books, Ghost Rider Trading, Green Patel, No3 Mountain Boutique and Interior Envy.
Take a walk down 2nd Avenue next week to check out all the creations, which each had a lot of heart put into them.
“So many things for the kids have been cancelled because of COVID,” said Senior. “It’s nice to have something for the kids. It’s important for them to be proud of the amazing art they’ve made.”
READ MORE: CFKR allocates over $11,000 to Elk Valley community programs
scott.tibballs@thefreepress.ca
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