Link to Event
On Sunday, October 16th, Christ Episcopal Church will host a labyrinth dedication following its morning worship service. The worship service will begin at 9:30 am and the labyrinth dedication will happen immediately following at 10:45 am. The service also includes the dedication of a bench in memory of Jack and Barbara Gentry. Jack Gentry served as the mayor of Walnut Cove from 1959-1971. Both were members of the community and Christ Church for many years.
All community members are welcome to attend the services.
At 1 pm, group members from The Lilies Project welcome the community to walk the labyrinths, learn more about opportunities to engage in the labyrinth walking practice, and connect with other community members. At 2 pm, the event will shift to Cove Square to spend time walking the labyrinth there. Walking Tour Information will be available on the Christ Church Community House porch at 412 Summit Street until 2:30 pm. The event concludes at 3 pm.
The brick-inlaid labyrinth at Christ Church is the first of several installations as part of The Lilies Project Walking Tour. Nathan Wiles from InnateCreations designed and installed the labyrinth in January 2020. A second labyrinth was installed at Cove Square by the same artist in June 2021. An additional installation location includes the basketball court mural at London Park. Around a dozen sites will be included on the final tour, which will be unveiled in Spring 2023.
As part of the multi-year creative placemaking endeavor, Caroline Armijo, Director of The Lilies Project, discovered that Walnut Cove residents wanted more opportunities to walk for health benefits. “Community members consistently expressed interest in walking. Two team members were particularly moved by labyrinths: Tammy Hill and Danielle Bailey-Lash. The Lilies Project installed two labyrinths in Downtown Walnut Cove as part of The Lilies Project Walking Tour. A third canvas Labyrinth is available as a resource to use throughout Stokes County.”
In keeping with the walking theme, The Lilies Project supported the development of Walnut Cove’s Greenway Plan, which the Town of Walnut Cove adopted at the September Town Council Meeting. During the October 16th gathering, Armijo plans to kick off community conversations around developing a friends group to support the Walnut Cove Greenway, Mountains to Sea Trail and other recreational development in the Southeastern Stokes area. “Stokes County is fortunate to have rich cultural and natural resources with a beautiful landscape and many recreational opportunities. We are hoping that we can all come together and collaborate on big picture plans for what we hope to see develop in the area.”
Save the Date: For Black History Month, The Lilies Project and the Stokes County Historical Society will host a screening fo The Lilies of The Field, featuring local composer Jester Hairston on Sunday, February 12th at 2:30 pm at the Palmetto Theater. A Mountains to Sea Trail representative will present images from 1938 USDA Aerial Photographs of the area to help identify landmarks prior to the creation of Belews Lake in the early 1970s.
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