Into this morning's expected gloom will come the bright sounds of hundreds of little bells.
They'll appear in parks, schools and neighborhoods, dangling from tree branches, road signs and railings, left by dozens of people in the Ben's Bells army.
The distribution will be the eighth installment of the Ben's Bells project, which was started by Jeannette Maré-Packard and her husband, Dean, to honor the memory of their young son and encourage us to be kind to one another. Ben died of croup four years ago today, two months before his third birthday.
All told, 500 bells will go up around Tucson this morning.
In two weeks, another 500 will be distributed in Phoenix, the second time a distribution will take place outside Tucson — 200 bells were given out in Portland, Ore., in conjunction with the fall distribution in Tucson.
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Some bells also will go to New York and Washington, D.C.
All these bells will mean some 5,500 Ben's Bells have been distributed since the project began in 2003.
It's grown immensely in other ways, too.
From a humble backroom studio behind the Packards' garage, it's moved to its own building near the University of Arizona's Main Gate. There were 70 people there making bells on Friday.
The Packards also have taken the project to more than 100 schools, companies and other spots for bell-making sessions with thousands of people.
Weekly bellings began in September, to specifically honor those among us who make our community a better, kinder place to live.
And Ben's Bells has even become its own nonprofit charity, outgrowing Tu Nidito, the grief-counseling center that nurtured it in its infancy.
That's not even getting into the project's involvement with National and Global Youth Service Day, or how Maré-Packard takes the project to the Pima County jail each week. There are numerous other collaborations, too.
"It's just hugely gratifying, the feedback we get is just so good, so insanely good," Maré-Packard, 39, said earlier this week. "I completely credit Ben's Bells with my survival."
● The Ben's Bells studio is located at 816 E. University Blvd. It's open 2 to 7 p.m. Friday; and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Call 628-2829 for more information or go to www.bensbells.org.
● To nominate someone to be "belled," go to www.929 themountain.com/pages/jennie_itm.html and click on Ben's Bellings.
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