The Namegrams Project
Update: November 9, 2007
Members of the Carolina Lettering Arts Society gathered today to hang namegrams in the trees along the first block of Fayetteville Street. Below is a quick photo collage.

The Namegrams Project
Early Information

At the Carolina Lettering Arts Society Annual General Meeting in Southport, NC, in May, Liz Simmonds, the Program Chairman, proposed that CLAS undertake a project to honor, in a public, visually stirring and apolitical way, all those military men and women who have died defending freedom in Iraq and Afghanistan. She got the idea from the Albuquerque, New Mexico, calligraphy group. 
 
Last spring the calligraphers of Albuquerque, with the help of many local groups and individuals, hung NAMEGRAMS on the trees of a local park. The namegrams are based on the tradition of Lloyd Reynolds’ Weathergrams, with which most of us are familiar. They are made of kraft paper, written on with waterproof ink and tied up with biodegradable string so that they briefly inspire, then return to the earth. Lloyd’s Weathergrams contained short quotes, haiku, etc.; the Namegrams contain the names of heroes. As you read this, most of the Namegrams have already been enscribed by members of the Mountain Scribes, the Coastal Calligraphy Collective and the Triangle Calligraphers’ Guild.
 
A major event to display the Namegrams is planned in Raleigh on Friday, November 9th, to coincide with the annual Veterans Day parade on November 10th. Assuming the project is approved by the Raleigh City Council, a large number of TCG and CLAS members, along with representatives of military and veterans groups, civic organizations, Boy and Girl Scouts and local and state officials will gather in downtown Raleigh for an opening ceremony. Following this, all the participants will commence to hang over 3500 Namegrams on the trees lining both sides of Fayetteville Street. The Namegrams, each containing the name and age of a fallen hero, and the caption,  “This is an American Hero killed in Iraq or Afghanistan.“, will be fluttering in the breeze among the many spectators on Saturday morning as the parade honoring all veterans passes by.
 
If you would like more information about this project, you can contact the Project Coordinator, Don King, at (919) 847-9408 or dking@dkingstudio.com.