“Just enjoy the space:” A pop of color brings new life to underutilized Salisbury park

SALISBURY, Md.- Meet Shelton Hawkins.

An Easton native who has a passion for basketball and art.

He merged the two to create the Play In Color project, transforming basketball courts across the shore and now in Salisbury at Waterside Park. “I’m a direct descendent of Harriet Tubman. So for me its kind of like my own version of the Underground Railroad, where you can go to all these places that are safe spaces and go play basketball and enjoy your community,” Hawkins said.

Both Hawkins and Salisbury Mayor Jake Day say they were waiting for the right time and place to start the project. They say Waterside was the perfect location as it needed a little TLC. “We want to encourage neighborhood parks like Waterside to be well-loved, well used, and to be really beneficial to the the kids and families that live in the neighborhood,” Mayor Day said.

It’s an investment Mayor Day says will be an entry way to the presence of more art and culture in the city.  “With our ARPA money, we invested in a number of things around the city and this is one of them. So this is one of the benefits of the federal funding that we got and we’re really excited to see it come to fruition,” Mayor Day said.

One of the unique things about Play in Color is that they call on the community to help bring these masterpieces to life.

Hawkins tells us the mission is bigger than basketball. “In 2006, my cousin passed away on the basketball court in Easton and we noticed no one was using that basketball court for like 10 years. Nobody would go out there and play so we just wanted to get people out playing basketball again,” Hawkins said.

“Even if you don’t want play basketball, the main goal is to make sure the court is cool enough if you want to just come hang, take photos, and all that kind of stuff. So just enjoy the space.”

Mayor Day tells us that the Waterside Park project will be one of many art initiatives coming to the city soon.

The artwork is expected to be completed by this weekend with a ribbon cutting ceremony to follow in the coming weeks.