If you’ve walked past the Evergreen Gallery, you’ve probably seen the chair out front with a pair of angel wings on it. Maybe you’ve even sat in it for a selfie. Here’s how it got there.
It starts with the Evergreen Angels
Inside the gallery you’ll find the Evergreen Angels, a collection of jewelry pendants with a long history in our town. Virginia Haley started the collection in 1993 at Evergreen Fine Art Gallery. She later sold it to a couple who carried it on for years. When they retired, they passed it to me so the Evergreen Angels could stay in Evergreen, where they belong.
A different kind of holiday season
Every December, downtown Evergreen hosts its annual Holiday Walk, which usually brings in 4,000 to 5,000 people. In December 2021, though, COVID limits meant we couldn’t have many people in our shops at once. So instead of the Holiday Walk, we held daytime events over two weekends, with street performers and little pop-up kiosks along the street.
With the Evergreen Angels in mind, I had an idea. I ordered a couple of sets of angel wings and asked my daughter, Chloe, and her friend Isabel to wear them and walk up and down the street.
Angels on Main Street
The girls were an instant hit. Everyone wanted a selfie with them, but what surprised us was how many people wanted to tell them their own angel stories.
The next day Chloe went out alone, and the same thing happened. People stopped for photos and shared stories of angels in their lives. A group of Harley riders even pulled over to tell Chloe their stories, and by the end, some of them were in tears.
A chair is born
After a while, Chloe decided she’d had enough. She took off the wings, put them on one of my chairs, and set the chair in a parking spot in front of the gallery.
Right away, people started sitting in it and taking selfies.
Still here, still smiling
The angel wings chair has been out front ever since December 2021. The sun is hard on the wings, so every so often I order a new pair from an artist in Ukraine who makes them and ships them to me. Even Santa and Mrs. Claus have stopped by for a seat!
Next time you’re downtown, stop by, have a seat, and take your picture with the wings. And if you have an angel story of your own, we’d love to hear it.
