Groesbeck Rocks!

People of all ages have been invited to embrace their creativity and share it with the world by painting rocks and hiding them in plain sight as part of the Groesbeck Rocks movement. The rebirth of the artsy, ongoing scavenger hunt has been orchestrated by Valerie Mann, who moved from California to the Groesbeck area with her husband Arn about three years ago.

“When I lived in California, I did Southern California Rocks, and when I moved I handed it off to other people,” Mann said. “After I got settled here, I realized there wasn’t anything like that here so I brought it here.”

Though the similar #RockingGroesbeck group was active from 2017-2021, participation died out before its demise and the COVID pandemic was likely a factor in its end. Mann started the #GroesbeckRocks group about 10 months ago, and rock painting and hiding has enjoyed an enthusiastic revival in recent months.

“My 13-year-old stepdaughter is artistic and there wasn’t anything for her to do outside of the school year, until now,” Mann said. “The best part is putting a smile on anybody’s face that finds the rocks because it’s unexpected. We encourage people to hide them in plain sight, and try to do high (foot) traffic areas like near businesses, in parks, places where people constantly are or go visit.”

Participation is spurred by the “Groesbeck Rocks” Facebook Group, where some people show off their creations and others post pictures of the rocks they’ve found and details about where they found them. All are encouraged to keep or rehide the rocks in a new location, and according to Mann, half the fun is seeing how far the rocks travel.

“Beyond Groesbeck, rocks have traveled as far as Tennessee and New Mexico, but also regularly appear in Mexia, Waco, and other Texas cities,” Mann said. “We’re going to be leaving on a trip in August and we’re taking rocks with us on our road trip to hide along the way.”

This month, Mann has organized free rock painting events on Saturdays at local locations like churches and libraries, providing supplies and snacks for attendees.

“It started slow but we are at about 25-30 people per event,” Mann said. “Most of it is kids, so adults will bring all their kids, but age ranges I’ve seen are anywhere from four-ish to 60. Painting is a good hobby or pastime, it is very relaxing.”

Mann recently got approval (and assistance from her husband Arn) to start a rock snake outside the Groesbeck First Methodist Church, downtown. For rock painters who are loath to lose their masterpieces, this is a great opportunity to display their rock or rocks in more of a permanent location, where they can be admired by many, as part of Groesbeck George’s “body”.

This is not the first community-serving venture Mann and her husband have taken on since joining the Groesbeck community; the couple also built a little free library at the driveway of their property, where visitors are welcome to borrow or keep books that have been donated.

“The community is important to us, and we are happy to contribute any way we can,” she said.

In what remains of this month, there are two rockpainting events planned: Saturday, July 22 at Groesbeck Maffett Public Library from 12-2 pm, and Saturday, July 29 at Groesbeck First Methodist Church from 12-2 pm. You can always join the “Groesbeck Rocks” Facebook Group to keep up with future events, and of course, to see where your painted rock ends up.

“We had a couple sisters in their forties who posted on the page that finding the rocks, they felt like little girls hunting Easter eggs,” Mann said. “They decided to keep a couple and reside the rest.”