Hamilton neighbours transform sidewalk into rainbow celebrating Pride Month
There's been 'a lot of honking, waving, cheering. People come by just to see it,' says Kimberly Garrod
A box of brightly-coloured chalk and some help from her neighbours is all Kimberly Garrod needed to transform the drab sidewalk in front of her Hamilton home into a rainbow.
The vivid display is a visible celebration of Pride Month and runs for at least 15 metres through their neighbourhood on the Mountain.
"We wanted to show support," Garrod explained. "There's a lot of kids in the neighbourhood and it shows them that there's a safe space, if need be."
"And it's fun and it's bright and it's Pride Month," she added with a laugh.
Garrod moved to Hamilton about a year ago with her wife.
When the couple saw a Pride flag go up in their neighbourhood earlier this month, they began to fly their own.
Then Garrod got creative.
Watch | Here's how a sidewalk became a rainbow:
Using sidewalk chalk, she began coating each square of cement in a layer of red, blue, orange and green — all the colours of the rainbow.
Neighbours living on either side of her home soon joined in, covering the pavement in a kaleidoscope running down the block.
The work took them a full afternoon and is still there, though a little faded, a week later.
"So far all of the reactions we had were positive," said Garrod. "A lot of honking, waving, cheering. People come by just to see it, so it's been really good."
While many cities, including Hamilton, have rainbow crosswalks, she said covering the sidewalk in colour was a way to bring the same kind of crossing into her own neighbourhood.
Garrod said she loves the idea of more-permanent rainbow displays being added across the city to show support for the LBGTQ community.
The neighbours are planning to carry out weekly touch-ups each throughout the month in order to keep the rainbow bright.
"It was a lot of fun," said Garrod. "I think we're going to keep doing it, maybe every year."