Residents embellish miniature paper golf carts with art-inspired messages of gratitude
PEACHTREE CITY, GA (October 15, 2025) – A mainstay of the annual Magnolia Fine Arts Festival – marking its tenth year this weekend – is its community art project. Last year the project involved families decorating handmade paper golf carts with a word or expression of gratitude. The representation of the community project is a three-dimensional diorama featuring the miniature golf carts along the multi-use path system and the backdrop of Peachtree City landmarks including Drake Field, The Fred, and the Gateway Bridge. The diorama is on display at the Peachtree City Library, 201 Willowbend Rd., through October 31.
“A Plan to Stay” community project engaged more than 250 local families in a creative expression of gratitude for Peachtree City’s unique golf cart community. Lei Rhyne, a licensed mental health professional and nonprofit founder, volunteered to lead last year’s project. An online poll followed, inviting the community to vote for their favorite golf cart art resulting in 36 finalists. Rhyne compiled the community’s collected words of gratitude and composed a poem titled “Plan to Stay.” The 36 italicized words in the poem represent the winning golf cart art that inspired the diorama and the poem. “A Plan to Stay” is published on the nonprofit’s website along with a photo of The Honorable Kim Learnard, Mayor, City of Peachtree City, viewing the exhibit at the Peachtree City library.
“The intent of the community project was to connect festival attendees to creativity and positive thinking and to demonstrate the power of healing through art,” explains Lei Rhyne, an expressive art therapist and founder, Healing with Art N Sound. “Peachtree City and golf carts are almost synonymous and accentuating that synergy with the written word as art was an impactful experience.”
The 36 gratitude words featured in the poem include: Trees, Winding paths, Calm, Quiet, New, Peaceful, Neighbors, Kindness, Years, Children, Love, Care, Families, Safety, Community, Golf Carts, Paths, Friendship, Open Space, Greenery, Parks, Schools, Events, Nature, Home, Tranquil, Support, Future, Together, Memories, Spirit, Growth, Beauty, Freedom, Belonging, and Serenity.
About Healing with Art N Sound
Healing with Art N Sound is a nonprofit founded by Lei Rhyne, a licensed professional counselor also known as the Barefoot Counselor, who was inspired to start the organization after becoming more aware of the barriers to mental health resources for some individuals, including those in hospitals, cancer centers, and assisted living facilities. The group specializes in fostering emotional release and self-awareness through expressive arts and sound healing and with the mission to create a haven where individuals can release pent-up emotions of pain, anger, frustration, and grief. Transformative tools like journaling, dance, chanting, drumming, and sound baths are used to facilitate deep, inward healing. For more information, visit https://healwithartnsound.com.
About the Magnolia Arts Festival
The Magnolia Fine Arts Festival, a premier juried event celebrating arts and culture, is presented by Fine Arts and Crafts Entrepreneurs, Inc. (FAACE). Founded in 2011 by Fayette County artists, FAACE launched the festival in 2015 to create new opportunities for local creators. The organization’s mission is to advance interest in the arts and foster collaboration among artists and the community. Membership is open to individuals and organizations that support the arts. Learn more at faace.org/magnolia-fine-arts-festival or contact [email protected].
