BOULDER, Colo. (KDVR) — A new memorial will open up Friday to honor the victims of the Boulder King Soopers shooting that took place earlier this year.
The original memorial was taken down a few weeks ago. It contained thousands of flowers and mementos, honoring those who lost their lives at the store on March 22. Many of these mementos are at the Boulder History Museum for future display.
The new memorial is being designed by two Boulder artists, working closely with King Soopers and the Boulder Office of Arts and Culture. The memorial will be made of a “flower wave installation.” These flowers will be placed on a 60 foot stretch of fencing on the west side of the King Soopers parking lot.
“It’s a nice event to come back for, to help us reemerge from that crisis point,” said Tera Huston, owner of Fawns Leap flower shop in Boulder. “It doesn’t have to define how the community engages with this space and this has been such a central location for so many people, so it’s a nice way to usher in change.”
The public is then invited to “naturally dissolve” the new memorial by taking a flower from the fence and giving it as a gift to someone else.
“Being in the presence of flowers is a healing act,” said Ali DeJohn, owner of The Makerie in Boulder, spending her Thursday to help build the flower wall. “Seeing our community volunteer and show up with such beautiful energy. You can feel the love here.”
Huston said she got the idea of a flower wall from the original memorial that was created by people in the community along the first fence that surrounded the King Soopers parking lot after the shooting. People wove flowers in the fence, around photos and posters made for the victims.
“People naturally wanted to weave flowers into the fence line, like a natural impulse to deal with their emotions. It’s so powerful, and it’s very meaningful to be able to do another version of that,” said Huston.
The artists say allowing people to pick flowers from the wall symbolizes the support the community has shown in wake of the tragedy.
“We have been so wrapped up with logistics that I don’t think it’s fully hit me yet, but when I arrived this morning, my eyes were filled with tears thinking about what today would mean to have the wall come together and allow the community to interact with it,” DeJohn told FOX31 while wrapping up the final touches.
The public may visit the memorial beginning Friday at noon.