Art project planned on Waupaca’s Main Street

By Angie Landsverk

Two downtown Waupaca crosswalks are set to be painted on June 2, as part of this year’s community art project.

There are plans to paint five more crosswalks before this year’s Arts on the Square (AOTS).

The 13th annual arts festival is Aug. 16-17, in downtown Waupaca.

“There’s plenty of painting opportunities,” said Marci Reynolds, president of the Waupaca Community Arts Board (WCAB).

WCAB organizes AOTS and chooses a community art project each year.

The crosswalks scheduled to be painted on June 2 are the Union and Fulton street ones that cross Main Street.

“They will be simple designs that everyone can paint. The idea is we want a lot of people involved,” said Reynolds.

Those interested in being part of the painting teams for the first two crosswalks are asked to email [email protected]

Three more crosswalks will be painted on July 7, with the final two crosswalks being painted on days leading up to AOTS.

“We look at it as a mural at your feet,” Reynolds said.

This is WCAB’s first attempt at a community painting project.

The board is interested in painting murals.

Main Street is being reconstructed in 2021.

The board wants to wait until that project is complete before it organizes a mural project.

A board member saw painted parking stalls in another community, Reynolds said.

As WCAB considered the idea, it found a number of cities have painted crosswalks.

Reynolds presented the idea to the common council in February.

“The city has been phenomenal,” she said. “They’re excited. They’re helpful.”

She said the city is cleaning each crosswalk before it is painted and assisting with street closures.

Selection process

More than 20 designs were submitted by local residents for this summer’s community art project.

The arts board juried them and chose the seven it liked best, Reynolds said.

It thought the designs chosen were “doable and complement each other,” she said.

Becca Eckhardt’s design was chosen for the Union Street crosswalk, and Rachel Hart’s design was chosen for the Fulton Street crosswalk.

Pratt and Lambert Paints has donated $1,000 worth of paint for the project, Reynolds said.

The Paint Store helped with that.

She said there is a lot of support and enthusiasm in Waupaca for community art projects.

“A lot of people stop me and other board members and say, ‘What are we going to do this year?’” Reynolds said.