The story behind those bright blue rocking chairs appearing all around Charlotte
Dozens of bright blue rocking chairs suddenly appeared all around Charlotte on Wednesday.
By early next week, 100 will be in place for Charlotteans and visitors to enjoy, city officials told The Charlotte Observer.
The chairs are “a fun way” to celebrate Charlotte’s 250th birthday and will be in place throughout 2019, Monica Holmes, manager of the city’s Placemaking Program, told the Observer in an email.
The city turned 250 on Dec. 3, 2018, the day in 1768 when colonial Gov. William Tryon signed Charlotte’s charter, the Observer previously reported. The city is celebrating with various events this year as well.
Made of recycled milk jugs and intended for the outdoors, “the chairs invite people to chat with neighbors and celebrate the places and spaces that make Charlotte a city to love,” Holmes said.
That’s also the aim of the Placemaking Program, started in 2018 to “transform underutilized public spaces into vibrant places for people,” according to the program website, charlottenc.gov/placemaking.
The program invites people to share their placemaking stories on social media using the hashtag #RockWithCLT.
Rocking chairs have or are about to be placed in all seven Charlotte City Council districts, at such gathering spots as the Johnson C. Smith University student union, the main entrance to Northlake Mall, Mickey & Mooch in the Arboretum Shopping Center, Sugar Creek Library and Romare Bearden Park. The complete list is on the program website.
The chairs are certain to build on the city’s longstanding national acclaim for its rockers, which have for many years welcomed weary passengers at Charlotte Douglas International Airport.
This story was originally published April 3, 2019 at 8:02 PM.