Lila Nuttle, a sophomore at Fairview High School, volunteered to help plan an upcoming event around healing after the King Soopers shooting because she’s interested in healing through art.
Her ideas for the event included a community art project, as well as an opportunity for participants to exchange notes with “happy” messages. Between the shooting and recent wildfires, she added, her community has experienced a lot of trauma.
“We just want to put some joy out there and give people a chance to have some fun and feel safe to acknowledge any emotions,” she said. “We want everyone to get something out of this event, whether it’s being with people, finding resources and ways to cope, or just kind of escaping into a stress-free environment.”
Growing Up Boulder is hosting Saturday’s the youth-led Healing Day of Remembrance to mark the one year anniversary of the mass shooting at the Table Mesa King Soopers, where 10 people were killed on March 22.
The free, all-ages event is from 10 a.m. to noon at the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, 1750 13th St. Planned by Boulder’s Youth Leadership Healing Committee, the event includes opportunities to heal through art, writing and community connection.
The high school students on the planning committee were supported by Growing Up Boulder, Mayamotion Healing and the University of Colorado Boulder’s Renee Crown Wellness Institute. The event is funded by the Community Foundation Boulder County’s Boulder County Crisis Fund.
Executive Director Mara Minzter said Growing Up Boulder received a grant from the crisis fund to determine what young people need in the wake of the shooting and help provide that support. Twenty six high school students applied to be on the planning committee, while about 18 routinely participated in the sessions.
“They’re so aware and so deeply impacted,” Minzter said. “It’s so easy for us as adults to forget about their needs because they maybe don’t express themselves the same way as adults.”
She added young people are experiencing record high levels of anxiety and depression.
“This healing event is a way for them to help themselves and help others,” she said.
Maya Sol Dansie, who founded Mayamotion Healing, said one theme for the event is fostering resilience.
“The healing of trauma is not linear, and a traumatic event can activate grief or traumas from previous experiences,” she said. “I want to help young people accept that there are heavy experiences we will likely confront again and again.”
Saturday’s event includes art for young children, a community art project, a community altar, a sensory station and a writing station, as well as support from Boulder Mental Health Partners and Natural Highs.
Minzter said the organizing team also will collect information from children and teens at the event about how they wish to heal, then use that information to help design the second part of the project.
“We see this as informing the next steps,” she said.
Josh Cochran-Holmes, a freshman at Fairview High, said he wanted a part in remembering the King Soopers tragedy.
“I didn’t feel like just sitting on the side and watching,” he said.
He said one of his ideas for the events was creating ofrendas, or offerings, on a altar at the event, then allowing participants to add to the display. The overall goal is a “peaceful place (for people) to heal from this event, express their emotions and pay their respects,” he said.
He said he appreciated the opportunity to plan an event, noting young people may think differently than adults.
“We have grown up in a different generation, and we have different ideas,” he said. “That doesn’t mean that anyone is wrong, but some fresh thoughts and healing practices would provide a welcome change.”
Fairview junior Greyson DeMarco worked on the communal art project for the event, with participants invited to paint or draw on a puzzle piece. Once completed, the puzzle pieces will spell the word “healing.”
He said the event is designed for anyone who wants to connect and express themselves, not just those affected by the King Soopers shooting.
“I feel like everybody has gone through something in their life,” he said. “I see this as a resource for people to get help if they want to. You can express yourself however you want to, no matter what you’re going through.”
