Spoonville gives walkers something to smile about

A CURIOUS little kingdom has appeared within Ballarat North.

Havelock Street’s Spoonville is an installation of wooden spoons. It’s a growing kitchen utensil town by a tree, full of spoons which children in the neighbourhood have made into characters or simply decorated artistically.

Inspired by the national Spoonville craze, the Harris family launched the local initiative, placing their first spoons in the ground, including eldest child Cleo’s Harry Potter creation.

“I enjoyed making the spoons because we could pick anyone out of a book or a movie… anything,” she said.

“I chose Hermione Granger. She’s always bubbly and happy, and she’s my favourite character, so it was a lot of fun.”

Taking a photo of the spoons her three children had placed in the ground, mum Erin Harris invited those living nearby to add to the project’s population.

So far, about six families from the neighbourhood have made their mark in Spoonville, working together while apart. One of those families has crafted a town sign in pebbles.

“There’s so many different characters, people’s pets, it’s really colourful, and there’s a lot to see,” Cleo said.

It’s been exciting for Mrs Harris and her family to peep out their window and see people on their iso walks stopping by the tree to visit the kingdom and take a closer look.

She pops over to Spoonville with the kids once or twice a day to see whether new spoons have moved into the neighbourhood.

“I’d love to expand it a lot and get a big circle around the tree, so if anyone wants to get involved then they can,” Mrs Harris said.