Tourism Council plans mural project

In an effort to bring more visitors to the county, members of the Jackson County Tourism Council are launching a mural project here.

Three new murals will kick-start the project in downtown Holton, according to Suzette McCord-Rogers, a member of the tourism council and mural committee. 

The new murals, which are expected to last 20 to 30 years, are being planned on the exterior of three buildings. 

Wichita artist Heather Byers has been hired to paint two murals – one on the west side of the building on the northwest corner of the Square owned by Colette Carson and the other on a wall in the alley behind More Than Lemons on the east side of the Square.

McCord-Rogers said Byers is expected to begin painting the murals next month. 

“We’re seeing this as an opportunity for increased tourism and economic growth,” McCord-Rogers said. “We want to pull the county together, not just Holton, but countywide.”

The mural painted on Carson’s building will say “Welcome to Jackson County” and will include symbols representing the county like a John Deere tractor, a cornstalk and a sunflower, she said. 

In addition, a third mural by a different artist is being considered for the north side of the Jackson County Museum, which is located just off the south side of the Square across the street west along Kansas Highway 16. The mural will feature a tallgrass prairie scene.

McCord-Rogers said the mural project was suggested by Raph Wahwassuck, a member of the tourism council. 

Many cities, including Manhattan, Salina, Lawrence and Wamego, have recently added murals throughout their communities.

In August, McCord-Rogers attended a Kansas Sampler Foundation workshop on murals in Clay Center. Members of that city have started “A Mural Movement” and commissioned artists to paint 15 murals in the community in one year.

“They’ve done so well. They had 60 to 120 visitors a day in the summer come and look at their murals,” McCord-Rogers said. “The murals brought media attention to the community and brought in new business.”

For more information on this story, please log in to your holtonrecorder.net account and select the Oct. 27, 2021 edition under “E-Editions.”

The Holton Recorder

109 W. Fourth St.
Holton, KS 66436
Phone: 785-364-3141
 

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