Dancing Umbrellas

Project Overview

Alice in Flowerland presents Dancing Umbrellas, the 2nd annual art installation of Connecting and Painting Community program. After the success of its debut in 2024 that decorated NMB’s palm trees on Hanford Boulevard with crocheted squares, the 2025 chapter aims to elevate the installation by bringing more than 250 crocheted umbrellas and 100 hula hoops into the sky, all handcrafted.

More than 50 senior residents gathered weekly at the North Miami Beach Library to crochet custom pieces over 5 months. Each design is inspired by the various backgrounds and stories of its creators.

Led by artist and anthropologist Alicia María Vallejo, the project celebrates the creativity, dedication, and spirit of the people who shaped it. Dancing Umbrellas invites viewers to pause, look up and experience a sky full of patterns and vibrant colors.

Different Stories, Same Sky

The 2024 chapter incorporated local themes such as the area's unique flora, fauna, and cultural identity. The 2025 chapter is centered around the residents of North Miami Beach. The residents turned artists designed and crocheted the umbrellas, each bringing their own life experiences, traditions, and perspectives.

The designs on each umbrella represent stories of the artists’ backgrounds, state of emotion, feelings and needs. Every piece holds the imprint of the person who made it, and together they form a larger vision shaped by the community itself.

Some came to make friends and find sisterhood with a shared hobby, while some found peace and sense of belonging during times of grief. After 5 months of creating and bonding, the artists take pride in knowing they built something meaningful not only as individuals, but as a community.

Yarn Bombing in NMB

Yarn Bombing is a global movement that emerged in the early 2000s as a playful form of street art that uses crochet to transform everyday spaces with color and texture. By wrapping public areas in handmade designs, it brings softness into the urban environment and invites people to see familiar places in a new and unexpected way.

With Dancing Umbrellas, yarn bombing takes on a new dimension in North Miami Beach, rising into the air as crocheted umbrellas that move with the wind. This approach blends craft with movement, turning the sky into a canvas of pattern and color.

Community Workshops

ancing Umbrellas workshops extended beyond the weekly sessions among the artists. These larger workshops brought together individuals who serve and support the city including representation from NMB police, public works, parks and recreation, community redevelopment agency, code compliance, NMB library, among other local organizations.

Through crochet, conversation, and collaboration, these workshops helped unite different parts of NMB into one creative effort.

Meet The Artists!

Together We Thrive

Local businesses, residents, and the City of North Miami Beach came together to make this project a reality. It’s a true celebration of what we can achieve when we work as one. This project was made possible thanks to the support of the CRA (Community Redevelopment Agency) of North Miami Beach, our generous sponsors, and the participants.

Our Sponsors