The Town of Blackfalds is looking to the community to help with a Canada Mosaic Mural celebrating Canada’s 150 birthday.
At Tuesday’s meeting, council approved $15,000 to go towards the community project.
The Blackfalds mural is part of 150 community murals across Canada, that if combined, will form a national mural. If all the inidividual murals are united, the gigantic work of art will be more than 365-metres wide – about four football fields wide and two-and-a-half metres high.
The Blackfalds town mural will be similar to the one already on display in Ponoka.
The Town of Blackfalds will seek public input on social media to finalize a design. The public will vote on its favourite design from about three to five choices.
Blackfalds mural, which will sit on top of a flat train car, will be about 12-feet by eight-feet, consisting of 600 panels.
Blackfalds Mayor Richard Poole said once the design is approved, about 300 panels of the mural will be painted by students at Iron Ridge Elementary and St. Gregory the Great Catholic School. The community will paint another 100 panels.
“We want to be all inclusive, and make it something that people will be proud of. When the public walks into the place (where the mural will be located), we want them to be able to look and say ‘I helped with that,’ ” said Poole.
Lewis Lavoie, an artist with the Canada 150 Mosaic Mural team, will paint the remainder of the work of art.
The town is considering Blackfalds Community Centre or the Abbey Centre for the location of the mural.
So far, a project timeline hasn’t been confirmed. The town agenda states dates to prepare the panels will be established before Canada Day.
Although, Canada 150th was last year, Poole said the project is an ongoing one across the country.
“Because it’s important to our country and all the communities. The project came to us later last year,” said Poole.
He said the Town of Blackfalds has been working hard in the community to encourage cultural aspects and projects of historic significance and this project does exactly that.
mamta.lulla@reddeeradvocate.com
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