'Elgin rocks' trend spreads happiness
Hundreds of colorful, hand-painted rocks from Elgin have been popping up in parks and public spaces throughout town, and even as far as Georgia and Florida.
The initiative is an offshoot of “The Kindness Rocks Project,” a trend that started with one woman in Massachusetts in 2016 and has spread across the country and abroad. In Elgin, the phenomenon has taken off thanks to two young siblings who found a painted rock last year while visiting family in Indiana.
“We went for a bike ride. We stopped and we saw a lady bug rock,” said Aubree Estrada, 10. “My aunt told us it was #ValpoRocks and she was just telling us how cool it is. Then we drove past more stops and we saw a couple more.”
“When we got home, we asked my mom, 'Do we have one (in Elgin)?'” said her brother, Bryan Estrada, 11. “And we said we should have it.”
A Facebook page created in July 2017 by their mother, Jen Estrada, now has more than 1,400 members and continues to grow, with 15 new members in the last week. The rocks have “ElginILRocks Facebook” written on the back, which has prompted people to visit the page and post photos of the rocks they find.
One woman wrote last week, “My 2-year-old and I found this rock at East Cobb Park in Marietta, Georgia. It's so fun to find rocks that have traveled.”
Among the most prolific rock painters is Elgin resident Nadine Soulier, who said she began her hobby in September 2017 after hearing about The Kindness Rocks Project from her daughter, who lives in Arlington Heights. Soulier eventually joined the Facebook page created by Estrada, and that's “when people got excited,” Estrada said.
Soulier, whose rocks have inspirational sayings, said she loves the process, from painting the rocks to hiding them, to the idea of people finding them and keeping them or re-hiding them.
“I'm absolutely in love with it,” Soulier said. “It's really taken off, but it has taken off especially in Elgin. I don't know another town around here that has the same enthusiasm as Elgin has.”
Another rock painter is resident Carmen Arvizu, whose elaborate designs ranging from holiday themes to the nightmarish clown Pennywise and the late Mexican pop star Selena.
“Sometimes I do bilingual rocks because we have a lot of Spanish speaking people in Elgin,” she said.
The Estrada kids said they're always thinking of new designs — Aubree loves emojis and food, while Bryan paints sports and video games. They love the idea their rocks spread happiness.
“If they (people) ever had a sad day, they pick it up and it makes them happy,” Bryan said.
Aubree agreed. “They can keep it, but if that rock gets passed on a lot, that would be cool.”