Rivera engages children in unusual way
When Melissa Rivera opened Holistic Energy Healing on March 8 she had hoped to host events for kids once a month. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic put a damper on her plans, as her Main Street shop was subsequently closed a week later, but she still wanted to do something for the community.
On Aug. 8, Rivera hosted a Paint a Rock event. She created 26 kits which she left outside her shop at 225 Main St. Each paper bag contained seven colors of paint, brushes, and rocks cleaned and ready for artistic fun. The kits were free – Rivera’s gift to the kids in Cornwall.
“Kids and teenagers have always been something I’ve been passionate about,” said the full-time social worker. “I know parents are probably pulling their hair out with the kids being home. It’s something simple; it’s nothing complicated.”
The event wasn’t the first and certainly won’t be the last. For Earth Day, Rivera provided bird feeder kits. Residents donated empty toilet paper rolls and Rivera contributed bird seed and instructions on how to create the feeder. She also broadcast a live video from her store so participants could do it together.
When Rivera reopened over the July 4 weekend, she knew she wanted to organize another community event and settled on rock painting.
“It’s something that gives parents the opportunity to just grab something, bring it home, and the kids can just have fun and forget about what’s happening in the world right now, even if it’s just for an hour,” Rivera said. “It’s just a way to engage kids in a different way.”
Once kids finished painting their rocks, parents posted pictures to Rivera’s Facebook and Instagram pages. Some kids kept their rocks and others left them in front of Rivera’s shop. The young painters either chose to work on their own or with friends as a play date.
A portion of the rocks were painted with solid colors of blue, black, green, red, orange, white, and yellow while others showed a bit more creativity. Kids layered the colors on their rocks or created designs. One rock was painted like a dinosaur head. One young boy took the opportunity to learn about secondary colors and mixed the red and blue paint to create purple.
The event was so popular, people started pulling up before her store opened for the day. The kits went quickly, so Rivera decided to repeat the event on Saturday. This time she’s upping the ante and will have 40 kits available from 11 to 4 p.m., while supplies last.
