Westerly is looking ahead to its future and more arts and music to add soul to its downtown vibe.  Harmony Trail Project is coming this summer to downtown Westerly and Pawcatuck! A year in the making, Harmony Trail Park is an idea brought to life by Tim Lebling, local business owner and Harmony Project Manager along with Wendy Brown, owner of The Brown Realty Group who have built a dedicated team including local business owners, organizations, and musicians all lined up ready to go and make Harmony Trail a popular community destination.

Photo credit to Freenotes Harmony Park

The concept? 13 instruments including mostly Xylophones, chimes, and percussion instruments have been ordered and will be sponsored by local businesses and individuals and concreted into the ground located along a walking trail in Westerly and Pawcatuck starting at Grey Sail Brewing of RI on Canal Street and ending in Donahue Park on Mechanic Street in Pawcatuck, where the public can go and play with an added educational component for people to learn about music.

“This town is so rich in music, it’s the next big thing,” says Tim. “We have art on the walls (Bricks and Murals and The Artist Cooperative Gallery), in the bars, in The United Theater, its only right we have music all over, we are excited about that.”

The Harmony Trail developed its musical roots from the Bricks and Murals project, a non-profit corporation, that two summers ago invited artists from all over the country to create beautiful murals on 15 buildings throughout Westerly and Pawcatuck and that were revealed during the Bricks and Murals Festival in September 2017.

The Harmony Trail instruments are designed and manufactured by Freenotes Harmony Park, the leader in outdoor musical instruments designed by Grammy Award-winning musician Richard Cooke. They have been building and placing instruments around the world for over 20 years, including North and South America, Europe, Australia and Asia and in 50 states in the US. The instruments designed in Durango, Colorado are durable, sustainable and perfectly tuned to enhance any outdoor space.

Photo credit to Freenotes Harmony Park

The goal is not only to provide music therapy, educational experiences, and strengthen cognitive function for both children and adults but also to bring the community together. “We want to bring the artist community to celebrate and enjoy all the arts,” says Tim.

A special reveal weekend takes place in June that will start with a community-wide musical stroll in the morning to walk the trail of instruments, local musicians are invited and the walk will start at Grey Sail Brewing and end at Donahue Park in Pawcatuck. The next day features a breakfast and a musical workshop at The Knickerbocker Café as well as other events, stay tuned for more details. “We are very excited, its (the Harmony Trail) has been well supported and we are hoping to expand into Mystic,” says Tim.

If you would like to donate to this worthwhile project please visit: https://bricksandmurals.org/harmony-trail/

For more information about Freenotes Harmony Park: https://freenotesharmonypark.com