- April 26, 2024
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An interactive art piece created at Riverfest Seafood Festival is now on display at City Hall.
BY WAYNE GRANT | STAFF WRITER
The top reason people like Ormond Beach appears to be, well, the beach. That’s from an informal poll taken by reading flip flops now on display at City Hall.
During Riverfest Seafood Festival, Nov. 16 and 17, attendees were invited to write why they like Ormond Beach on a flip flop. The footwear was then displayed for all to read on a wall that is now at City Hall.
“It’s interactive public art,” said City Manager Joyce Shanahan. “It gives people a sense of place, a sense of belonging to a community.”
She said the concept is based on the art of Candy Chang, who creates public art displays, but the use of flip flops may be unique to Ormond Beach.
“No other city has used flip flops that I’m aware of,” she said.
People stood in line to write on the flip flops during Riverfest, and Shanahan said the project was only limited because they ran out of sandals.
“We want to create a positive image,” said Julia Truilo, executive director of Ormond MainStreet. “There are so many wonderful statements on the flip flops.”
She said she was overwhelmed by how many people commented on residents’ friendliness.
The idea for the project grew out of discussions between city staff and Ormond MainStreet, the organizers of Riverfest.
Jerry Janaro, the MainStreet board member who designed and built the display, said people “lit up” when they saw the wall of flip flops.
“It was a wonderful thing to see,” he said. “They would take time to think about what they were going to write.”
He called the wall “movable art” and said its next location could be a bank or a library.
He said some of the statements on the flip flops are poignant. One person was never able to come to Ormond while their dad was alive and wrote, “Hey Dad, finally made it. See Mom, I’m here for him.”
Other writings say, “It’s my home”; “This is where I feel at home”; “palm trees, shells, sunsets, dolphins, fun, home”; “Because my life is on the beach”; “My mom lives here”; “lots of nice people”; “golf, weather, the people”; “beach, sun, restaurants”; “no snow”; “quiet nights on the beach”; and, “This is where I feel at home.”
Truilo said people can take part in the project on social media by writing why they like Ormond Beach and writing “#WhyIloveOrmondBeach” at the end of their message.
A virtual flip flop display will be on the MainStreet website in a couple of weeks.
Truilo called Riverfest “extremely successful,” with an attendance of about 12,000 people.
