Looking for something to do that is fun — and free — for the whole family?
The may be just the thing.
The year-round event kicks off the weekend of Aug. 6 to 8 when there will be seven new mural installations painted.
The "Big Paint Weekend," will bring together a diversity of artists and add to Squamish's existing murals.
The artists who will be painting are:
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During the starting weekend, the DSBIA will staff a tent at Junction park from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily where folks can come to pick up a map of the 20 mural locations.
Then take a walk around downtown.
The pandemic gave the association an opportunity to be creative and take a fresh look at what events it could do, said executive director Kerry Neil.
"The BIA predominantly did the Santa Claus Parade, the Canada Day parade... COVID was a good eye-opener for the BIA to look at what other options there were," she said. "Everybody had to pivot, and the BIA had to look at other options."
There is more of a focus on inclusivity and diversity and events that are widely accessible.
The Mural Walk will then last all year long, whenever folks want to check it out.
"I wanted something with longevity, not something that was going to be over in 24 hours," she said, adding that studies show murals in a community create a sense of pride and reduce graffiti and tagging.
The walk will ideally bring more people into the downtown core and into local businesses.
After the ‘Big Paint Weekend’, maps will be available from several downtown businesses.
Check with squamishmuralwalk.com for more information.
The event was supported by several local sponsors, donors and a 's arts and culture grant.
The association encourages participants to take photos of their favourite mural and tag #squamishmuralwalk and #downtownsquamish.
