MONROE – Many people associate Monroe with its prison or its auto-racing track, Kathryn Aalto said.
The community in which she has lived for 12 years deserves an alternative, she added.
“We wanted a piece of public art that will never go away,” said Aalto, president of the Monroe Arts Council.
A mural was the answer.
The nonprofit group, which started in March 2003, will dedicate its River of Life Mural on Thursday. The 80-foot-wide, 13-foot-tall mural is located on the north side of the Haight-Abbey Carpet Store on Lewis Street.
The mural shows an underwater river scene celebrating the natural resources of Monroe, which is located north of the Skykomish River.
“It’s more than fish life, and it’s how people interact with the river recreationally,” she said.
Painter David Hose, who has lived in town for about six months, spent approximately two months painting the mural.
“It’s a mural that the more you look at, the more you will see,” Mayor Donnetta Walser said of the detailed work.
The mural marks the first project of the arts council, which has raised $12,000 in the last 15 months and expects to raise $1,500 more for the project.
The council has held many fund-raisers, including a poker tournament.
“I don’t play poker, but I organized it. I can’t believe it,” she said.
Aalto said she hopes the mural will be a landmark that visitors and locals can enjoy.
“It’s for everybody, and it’s mostly for people who live here,” she said.
Ceremony
The Monroe Arts Council will have a River of Life Mural dedication at 6:45 p.m. Thursday. The mural is on the north side of the Haight-Abbey Carpet Store on Lewis Street. There will be music, desserts and hot cocoa. For more information, call 360-805-1049.
Ceremony
The Monroe Arts Council will have a “River of Life Mural” dedication ceremony at 6:45 p.m. Thursday. The mural is located on the north side of the Haight-Abbey Carpet Store on Lewis Street. There will be music, desserts and hot cocoa. For more information, call 360-805-1049.
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