A meandering trail of colourful rocks snakes its way in the underbrush at Willows Beach, just off the walking path near Bowker Avenue.
Started on Canada Day as a summer project, the project, dubbed Roxy the rock snake, has grown and grown, much to the delight of its originator, six-year-old Rosie Holoiday. There are hundreds of rocks painted with flowers, smiley faces, butterflies and hearts, intermingled with messages like “joy” and “peace,” the colours of the Ukrainian flag and popular cartoon characters.
At one end is a sign that says: “Hello! I’m Roxy the rock snake. Place a rock and help me grow.”
It all started with the snake’s head, made up of a face, tongue — which has gone missing — and googly eyes, a rock with Rosie’s name on it and five other rocks.
“My daughter just loves art and painted a collection of rocks she had after kindergarten ended,” said Chase Holoiday, Rosie’s father.
“We set the rocks up on July 1 with an invitation for others to add to it. When we came back a week later, nothing had changed and Rosie was a little disappointed.
“But then it just snowballed. It’s now about 25-feet long — growing about six feet in two weeks while we were away on holidays. Not only is it longer, it’s now thicker and wider, too.”
Holoiday said he was inspired after seeing images of painted rocks posted on social media, but had no idea that others, including an individual in Nova Scotia and another in Prince George, had started similar projects at the same time.
He posted a picture of the sign on the Oak Bay Local Facebook page with a plea: “Hopefully a simple sign and a little girl’s dream isn’t too much of an inconvenience for some.”
The plea was out of concern that the “snake” could became a tripping hazard for those frequenting the park.
But so far, the hundreds of brightly painted rocks, skirting the dry undergrowth in an out-of-the-way location at the south end of the beach, haven’t garnered any complaints.
“Rosie is so excited about her snake. She always asks if we can go down and visit it,” said Holoiday, who likes to take her to hang out at the beach. “She has received such positive response so far. It’s been a great summer project — and it always seems to bring a smile to everyone’s face.”
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