Say anything: hundreds of notes embedded in brick wall of this Kamloops shop
Kamloops art gallery and cafe The Art We Are is a fun, local favourite. But it's got a little something extra.
Hundreds of anonymous notes have been left over the years in the cracks of a brick wall that runs along the inside of the building. The wall is over 100 years old.
Owner Christina Grono says people started leaving notes in the wall seven years ago.
"I believe it was just one customer that put a little note in the wall, and then it literally just grew on its own," Grono told Radio West host Sarah Penton.
"I feel like it's got a mind of its own."
Leave a note, take a note
Messages on the notes vary, says Grono. Most of them are inspirational. Some are sad. Some are reflective of what someone is going through in their life. Some people have written back and forth to each other.
And there's a rude one here and there.
"In the morning I'll grab a few and just read them and then I tuck them back in," said Grono.
She says she stores notes sometimes to free up space on the wall, but it is really up to customers to take notes that speak to them.
Grono has a few favourites from over the years. One was was found by a woman sitting near the brick wall. The woman realized the note was written by the daughter of her friend. The daughter had recently passed away from a fentanyl overdose.
The woman brought the mother to the cafe to read the note. It had the same inspirational quote written on it that the daughter had tattooed on her arm.
"For the mother it was kind of like a message from her daughter. It just meant a lot to her that to find that note."
Listen to the full story here:
With files by Radio West.
