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‘Painted Wings and Wild Things’ takes over Mendota · Illinois Valley - Shaw Local

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  Speaker 1: Painted Wings and Wild Things takes over Mendota written by
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  Matthias Warner. This article is being read by an automated
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  voice brought to you by Everlet. Nature was at the
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  forefront of Sunday's Painted Wings and Wild Things day long
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  celebration in Mendota. Reimagine Mendota, a community focused nonprofit organization,
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  dedicated a pair of murals in downtown Mendota. These murals
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  reflect that our community values the natural area where we
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  live and can help us learn about and appreciate the
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  beauty we're surrounded by. Organizer Amy Brewer said, this just
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  goes to show that Mendota shows up big for projects
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  and big for each other. At seven twenty eight Main Street,
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  Audrey Carver's finished work was dedicated First. Carver was tasked
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  with showcasing native flowers and the eastern meadow lark songbird.
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  I just wanted to make this a nice welcome to
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  downw town Mendota project, Carver, a Minnesota native, said, I've
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  been doing mural since high school and focused on them
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  full time for the last two years. After a lengthy
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  planning period, Carver completed the mural in just eight days,
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  despite the hectic weather last week at seven to twenty
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  five Washington Street, an unfinished mural from Justin Suarez was dedicated.
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  Suarez was tasked with displaying the animals and plants residents
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  can see at Lake Cacusha and Lake Mendota. I'm very
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  passionate about nature and conservation, so this was a fun
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  project to take on. Suarez, a New York native, said,
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  I volunteered at conservation sanctuaries and really made this a
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  large part of my life. Progress on Suarez's mural project
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  was halted due to the need to relocate the site
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  and last week's extreme weather. However, Suarez said he hopes
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  the mural can be completed in just over a week.
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  These murals were funded by a matching grant from the
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  National Endowment of the Arts. Following a community Heart and
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  Soul survey taken in twenty twenty three, the mural project
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  became a goal of Rey Imagine Mendota and the City
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  of Mendota. The city established an arts Commission and with
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  two years worth of its twenty thousand dollars budget and
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  donations from members and organizations in the community. Brewer said
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  that the commission was able to match the twenty five
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  thousand dollars needed for the grant and to make Sunday
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  Afternoon possible. The vibrant colors and local plants and animals
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  will help leaving up our town and bring energy and interest.
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  Reimagine Mendota member Michelle Wade said these murals also can
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  be a reminder of how well our community pulls together
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  to get something done. The mural dedications weren't the only
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  celebrations of the day. Along with the painted wings, there
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  were plenty of activities for residents to learn about and
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  interact with. Beginning at nine am, residents were able to
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  experience a birding hike and nature journaling exercise at Lake
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  Kakouo Uia and interact with many of the features seen
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  on the fresh murals. Candy and Steve Riddlebauer of Northern
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  Illinois Raptor rehab in Education held an exhibit at Veterans
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  Park with live hawks and owls uls for attendees to
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  learn about their diet and habitat, complete with faux birds,
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  real wings, and artifacts of the animals. Also at Veterans
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  Park was a live bird imitation dance from the ballet
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  Folklorico de Colores, a Mendota based group that showcased imitations
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  of birds from different regions of Mexico.