'Yarn bomb' planned for downtown Saturday

If you ever wanted to throw brightly colored things on city property without being charged with vandalism, Saturday is your day.

Downtown Topeka Inc. and Topeka knitters will meet at 10 a.m. Saturday at S.W. 8th and Jackson to wrap trees leading to S. Kansas Avenue in a “yarn bomb.”

Edie Smith, director of marketing and membership for DTI, said the idea came from a Washington, D.C., neighborhood trying to increase visibility for its arts assets.

“They started wrapping trees to guide people to where the arts center is,” she said.

Each tree will be different, Smith said, though most people probably will want to stick to wrapping the trunk. Some people weren’t sure how they felt about the quirky idea, but one city official suggested going farther and wrapping the Kansas Avenue Bridge, she said.

“Some people think we’re crazy, she said. “The excitement really is building.”

Smith said she isn’t sure how many trees they may be able to wrap Saturday, but eventually they hope to wrap the trees from the Statehouse to the west side of S. Kansas Avenue. The trees on the east side of the street may not be there permanently because of downtown redevelopment, she said, so they won’t be wrapped.

“It creates this lead into Kansas Avenue,” she said.

Families and the general public are welcome to come help wrap, Smith said. The city has given permission to wrap the trees, but people who want to wrap anything else need to ask the owner before covering it in yarn, she said.

“Who knows what else might get wrapped? It might go beyond trees,” she said.

Yarn won’t hurt the trees, Smith said, though some squirrels might not like it and decide to live in the unwrapped trees.

“The thing with yarn is it’s very forgiving for the trees,” she said. “It doesn’t restrict growth.”

If enough people like the project, it might spread as “guerilla art” and create a kind of scavenger hunt as people search for the wrapped trees, Smith said.

“I could see this being a citywide tour at some point,” she said.

People who want to participate Saturday can bring balled yarn, unfinished projects, and complete knitted and crocheted items to wrap around tree trunks, Smith said. They also can bring tools like ladders, step stools, scissors and large knitting needles, she said.

If you can’t attend but want to donate yarn and knitted items, you can drop them off at Downtown Topeka Inc., 515 S. Kansas; Visit Topeka Inc., 618 S. Kansas; The Merchant, 913 S. Kansas; New Century Credit Union, 707 S.E. Quincy; Prairie Glass Studio, 110 S.E. 8th; Avenue Hair Styling, 807 S. Kansas; Kelly Gerhardt American Family Insurance, 119 S.W. 6th; Ramada Hotel and Convention Center, 420 S.E. 6th; and YakNYarn, Fairlawn Plaza Mall.

For more information, call DTI, (785) 234-9336 or visit the Yarn Bomb Downtown Topeka page on Facebook.