Event to promote non-violence with pinwheels

CLOVIS — A simple design will carry a powerful message during the Pinwheels for Peace event today at the Clovis-Carver Public Library.

Co-organizer Misty Bertrand said the international pinwheel project promoting non-violence has been in Clovis previously but wasn't here last year; so the Clovis/Curry County Chamber Ambassadors thought it was important to revive the event "especially with the way the world is today."

The pinwheels — about 400 of them — were designed by members of the community during events over the past several weeks, including the American Wind Back to School Expo held in August and the Rotary Arts in the Park event held earlier this month.

Bertrand said she also brought pop-up pinwheel parties to "anyone who needed a pick-me-up," with the hopes that the simple act of creating art would lift their spirits — one of the main goals of the project.

She said the majority of the pinwheels were created by following a simple formula, made from "paper, pencil, a push pin and love."

Each pinwheel features a unique design. Kim Tipton, event coordinator at the Clovis/Curry County Chamber of Commerce, said at one event she saw a brother and sister draw themselves playing soccer on a pinwheel, while the one she created featured a heart.

"Right now we live in a stressful time, and when people do art that's a way to express themselves," Tipton said of the inspiration behind bringing Pinwheels for Peace back to Clovis.

Bertrand said she believes art has the power to inspire kindness and make people feel good, something she hopes the pinwheels will do as well.

"It's just to show that everybody came together to promote peace and I hope it will bring some folks back out to the library ... because it's a phenomenal place that should be filled with love and art," she said.

According to the Pinwheels for Peace website, the project has grown from 500,000 pinwheels in 2005, its first year, to over 4 million.

The pinwheels will be on display inside the library from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. today. Bertrand said the initial plan was to display the pinwheels outside, but a forecast of rain pushed the event indoors.

She said the pinwheels will form a backdrop for people to pose for photos. According to a chamber press release, the public is welcome to join the chamber ambassadors for a group photo at noon.