Wheaton Arts Parade yarn bomb display vandalized

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. (DC News Now) — Members of the Wheaton Arts Parade shared their devastation after someone vandalized their public artwork.

Wheaton Arts Parade Executive Director Dan Thompson learned on September 5 that someone had torn down parts of their Yarn Bomb art display.

“It’s heartbreaking to see,” Thompson explained. “More than seven have been taken down. Every August, we invite volunteers to come and help us hang, and it signals that the parade is coming. The parade and festival will be on September 28.”

Thompson says hanging the pieces takes about two weeks, but the prep time starts long before.

“We start in the winter at the library,” he said. “We have free workshops where people come and learn how to crochet. They make designs and they put the designs on squares; the squares are then stitched together into panels, and the panels are wrapped around the poles, and we also hang them from the railings.”

Despite the vandalism, Thompson says the creative spirit is strong.

“The parade goes on,” he said. “We’ll make more yarn bombs. This is our ninth year, and there are going to be more people in the parade than ever. We’ll probably have more than 800 people in the parade. Marching bands, jazz bands, Mardi Gras-style bands, dancers.”