Midway Messenger

Model railroad buff Christy Reaves displayed one outside her home in the 100 block of West Bruen Street during the event.

Story and photos by Hayley Burris
University of Kentucky School of Journalism and Media

106 Cottage Garden: A yarn shows some Kentucky love.
For a larger version of any picture, click on it.

During times where neighbors cannot see each other unless at a social distance, Midwegians are creating new ways to stay interactive and entertained.

More than 30 householders in Midway decorated their lawns with widely different themes for a Yard Art event that let them interact with others while providing entertainment and staying at a six-foot distance. The event took place throughout the neighborhoods of Midway and started Saturday at 10 a.m. and lasted all day.

A colorful wooden dinosaur stood proudly (and menacingly?) at 109 Cottage Grove.

Colorful stakes and balloons were posted at 104 Carriage Lane. 

The idea was adapted from a Lexington event by Haley Wyatt of Northridge Estates. She said the idea was to help spread joy and stay connected during the covid-19 pandemic.

Wyatt created a committee to help plan it, along with similar events for the town.  They started to get the community involved by doing scavenger hunts for the kids stuck at home, beginning with shamrocks on St. Patrick’s Day.  From there, they escalated it to Yard Art. 

“This was an opportunity for everyone to get creative, work with their families on a project and to share their art with others,” said organizer Brittany Ehrlich of Cottage Garden Lane.  “I think Midway doing this just makes sense.  Midway is a tight-knit community, but we love inviting and allowing others to participate in our community events.”

Brittany Ehrlich and her daughter wrote "Freedom is not free" in their driveway in the 100 block of Cottage Garden Lane.

The restrictions for covid-19 made the event particularly different.  People were able to drive by and interact with others that they might not have seen for weeks.

Midwegian Michael Whaley said he has been keeping up with the community during this time “by just checking on your neighbor and making sure they don’t need anything.”

A boy at 105 Cottage Garden stands in front of a sign saying "GROW love, kindness and creativity."

People started setting up their houses early Saturday morning.  Some participants like model train buff Christy Reaves even had moving elements like trains within their yard. 

“It was something fun for people to just drive by and see,” said Reaves. “There’s not a lot of detail; they can see everything from their car.  I thought it was great so that parents had one more thing for them to do with their kids.  It was outside and it was new.”

Skeletons showed social distance at 128 S. Winter St. At least one more
yard used skeletons, apparently from the Halloween decorating contest.

The Yard Art event is a way for homeowners to express themselves and to interact with each other during these trying times. 

“Today it’s just been so heartwarming to see people walking by and driving by slowly with big, bright smiles so to me, that’s been really special,” Wyatt said.  “It’s kind of a heavy time, so just to see people being able to be lighthearted and experience some joy has been really good.”

132 Old Towne Walk also looked forward to a big day later this year.
Santa said, "Stay Healthy@Home and I will see you in December."

The committee is doing other non-yard-based activities  every Wednesday and Saturday with a different theme. “Encouraging Words” and Easter eggs will be the objects of scavenger hunts on April 8 and 11, respectively.

Organizers hope to make Yard Art an annual event.

“There was a house with a painting and quote, ‘Take your broken heart and make it into art’,” Ehrlich said. “I think this best explains the entire idea of why we decided to do this in Midway.”

151 Coach Station also looked to the future, with a sign hung from trees beaming an important word.