For The Record
Grapevine Rock Art Trail gives community something to smile about during the pandemic
By Amanda Rodriguez
Photos: Grapevine Parks and Recreation
The city of Grapevine Parks and Recreation Department in Texas maintains 23 trails throughout the park system, including hard and soft surfaces. This provides residents of all ages attractive, safe, accessible, and low- or no-cost places to cycle, walk, hike, jog, or skate. One particular trail offers even more to explore. The Grapevine Rock Art Trail is a wonderland of tiny paintings that inspire, uplift, and encourage the many visitors. Perhaps the most exciting thing about the trail is it holds a Guinness World Records (GWR) title for the Largest Display of Painted Pebbles, a total of 24,459 rocks.
The Rock Art Trail began in March 2020 as a way to uplift the community during the harsh reality of the COVID-19 pandemic. What started as a small group of rocks along the trail is now a display filled with talented and skilled artwork, and is sure to inspire all who explore the trail. The trail lies between Wall-Farrar Nature Trail and the trail connection from Parr Park along Big Bear Creek. This community-driven project was led by Ron Olsen and Chris Penny—both city residents—who joined forces to transform the trail into an artsy attraction. The trail is truly a community-led project that grew organically.
Growing Organically
“The Rock Art Trail is a beautiful symbol of our community’s resilience and resolves in the face of such a devastating and disruptive pandemic,” says Olsen, who placed the first cluster of rocks. The rocks consisted of a simple happy face, an Oklahoma University logo, blue-bonnets, a mountain and stream scene, and a galloping horse to represent the Grapevine Mustangs; rock zero was the Iceland national flag.
After Penny and his daughters discovered the rock art trail near their home, they painted a few rocks and chose the perfect spot to place them. While most of the world was shut down due to the pandemic, Penny connected with artists around the world who later donated rocks to the trail.
“What started as a random act of kindness to spread joy and positivity during the pandemic has grown into something extraordinary,” said Penny. “It amazes me that people from all over the world have sent rocks to be placed on a trail that they might not ever visit. These works of art have led to the trail being filled with laughter, new friendships being developed, people spending more time outdoors, couples holding hands, and childhood memories being relived. In essence, the rock trail ended up being exactly what the community needed during these unique times.”
Pebble By Pebble
As the collection of rocks grew, Olsen and Penny wondered if there were enough rocks to break a world record. Some research led them to the Guinness World Record (GWR) title, which at the time consisted of nearly 9,000 painted pebbles. The Grapevine Parks and Recreation Department joined forces and began the application process. The process took four to six weeks to complete and a plan was developed for the display to be judged and qualified. Once the application was approved, the GWR team explained the requirements for a new record. All pebbles had to touch each other to qualify as a single display. Additionally, all the pebbles had to display qualified artwork. For example, a pebble painted with a single alphabetical letter would not qualify as artwork; therefore, it could not be counted in the grand total. Lastly, the pebbles had to be at least 50 percent covered by artwork. After learning of the requirements, the Grapevine team, Olsen, Penny, and many volunteers gathered to prepare the rocks and the trail for judging.
The GWR team then assigned the project an adjudicator, who traveled to Grapevine in September, counted every single rock on the trail, and judged them to ensure they met the specific requirements. The process took the adjudicator about three hours to count 24,459 rocks. An estimated 3,000 extra rocks could not be counted toward the grand total because they did not meet the guidelines. Finally, the adjudicator awarded the Grapevine team, Olsen, and Penny the world record title. A community celebration followed, where several of the artists who contributed to the rock art trail were honored by city council, city leadership, and community members. This feat was accomplished because the community banded together to support each other during one of the toughest times in history. People were losing their jobs, losing loved ones due to COVID-19, falling into a deep depression, etc.; the trail helped lift spirits in ways nobody could have imagined.
“Grapevine is a community of togetherness,” says Kevin Mitchell, Grapevine Parks and Recreation Director. “It is amazing what has been accomplished on the Rock Art Trail and the positive impact it has had on so many.”
Amanda Rodriguez is the Marketing Manager for the city of Grapevine Parks and Recreation in Texas. Reach her at (817) 410-3919, or arodriguez@grapevinetexas.gov.