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Artists show up to revitalize community rock hunting
rock
Wes Beasley, 10, takes a close look at the handiwork of Colt Beasley, 7, during the June 24 rock-painting event at Paint & Possibilities. - photo by Mark Lastinger/staff

RINCON — Christy Thayer believes a community rock garden is a great place to cultivate kindness and beautiful memories.
About 90 people helped revitalize the activity of rock hunting Sunday by participating in a free event at Paint & Possibilities.
Rock hunting is a popular activity among families with young children. It is a primitive version of the hi-tech game Pokemon Go.
After searchers use clues to discover a decorated stone hidden in a public place, they share photos of it on Facebook and other social media outlets. They also share photos of personalized rocks that they hide for others to find.
Thayer, a member of Kindness Rocks Effingham, established a community rock garden at her art studio on South Columbia Avenue more than a year ago. It lost a bit of its luster, however, when more people started taking more prettified rocks than they were leaving behind.
"Our studio is very family oriented — it's all about the kids — and what was happening was that they couldn't find rocks," Thayer said. "We had four year olds and three year olds who were getting so discouraged. When I saw that on blogs, it was upsetting me."
Thayer turned her disgust into action, creating a place for rock hunters to acquire stones for their treasure-hunting pleasure.
"I thought I could create a permanent place at the studio where — if mom can't find rocks, if dad can't find rocks — they could be guaranteed to find a rock," Thayer said. "That's the spirit of where the community rock garden came from. It's a place for a community exchange."
See the June 27 edition of the Effingham Herald for more details.