About 20 minutes from Yakima is a small town called Toppenish, where some of our missionaries are serving. We attended church there last Sunday. It’s a very fun place to visit–a town filled with beautiful murals. If you’re ever in the area, it’s a must see!
The information below is taken from the Toppenish Chamber of Commerce website:http://www.visittoppenish.com/#!murals/c1ylq
The Toppenish Murals began in 1989 with the inaugural mural titled “Clearing the Land”. The idea was formed when state seed money was distributed to small communities in correspondence with the State of Washington’s centennial celebration. A group gathered and brainstormed the idea of historical murals and hosted the first annual MURAL-IN-A-DAY event in which an entire wall sized mural is painted in one day by a dozen different artist. Since the first mural was completed a Mural Society was formed and the organization has completed 74 additional murals, including 1 mural in a day each year on the first Saturday in June. Hundreds gather to come and watch paint dry.
The Mural Society has sustained the mural program for 25 years based solely on private donations and support. There are no public or tax dollars used to put any murals up in town. The board of 10-12 meets once a month and governs the creation of new murals, the location, the maintenance and up-keep, fundraising, etc. There are strict guidelines for each mural as the criteria set by the board is that they must all be historically accurate from 1840-1940 and also be historically accurate to the area.
The artist are commissioned to paint the mural after a rigorous proofing process. The proofs are all displayed at the Visitor’s Center. Artists include local, regional and national talent. Many of whom have worked on more than one mural. 2014 commemorates the 25th Anniversary of the Murals.
Below is a map of all of the murals. If you come to visit, you won’t want to miss this fun tour which can be taken in a horse and wagon. You can see these murals if you simply do a google search for Toppenish Murals, then click on Images (it’s usually on Web). History of this area is depicted beautifully. It gives you a sense of place and what has happened here.
Click to access muralMapFrBk-web.pdf
These are a few photos I took last Sunday. Most every town around here has at least one water tower and plenty of farms in the surrounding areas. We have some wonderful members in Toppenish!
Taken from the church:
Our Washington Yakima Mission 