It’s been a busy year for the Toppenish Mural Society, which has been upgrading the city’s existing murals, adding new ones to the collection, and introducing new amenities to improve the visitor experience. 

For starters, the Mural Society refurbished 11 of the 81 murals last spring and summer, adding a protective sealant to 10 of them.

Board member Karen Gulley Wesselius and Tri-Cities artist Don Brown — who has painted about a half-dozen of the Toppenish murals, including the three newest ones on the façade of Blue Sky Market — took the lead on the project, with help from a handful of other Central Washington artists.

“It’s hard to find people who have these specific skills,” Toppenish Mural Society President Janet Mayer said. “It’s very different than painting on canvas, and it requires an entirely different technique. We also want to be sure we maintain the authenticity of the original murals, so we ask the artists to just fill in the lines instead of trying to recreate the paintings.”

Along with the cosmetic upgrades to nearly a dozen murals around town, the Mural Society also added to the aesthetics of the city’s signature artistic collection over the past year. 

With help from Toppenish High School art students, the Mural Society introduced framed signs for the mural legends, which include QR codes that direct visitors to a website with detailed descriptions of the artwork. 

The QR codes take people to an app called “Otocast,” which contains pictures and written descriptions of the historic murals. Some of the framed legends are already in place, and more are expected to be available this winter. 

“Some also have audio descriptions in English and Spanish, and we’re planning to add those to all of the murals eventually,” Mayer said, adding that visitors are forwarded to the free Otocast app when they scan the codes. 

Mayer and her Mural Society colleagues believe visitors will enjoy the many different sound effects that accompany the mural descriptions online.

“They all start off with sound related to the mural, like a cow mooing or horses running,” she said. “Some of them also have music from the era, which fades out before the narrator begins talking. These new features are really going to enhance the experience.”

Another highlight over the past few months has been the reintroduction of the popular “Paradise Row” mural that formerly resided on Asotin Avenue. One of the oldest murals in the collection was removed from the former Public Works building years ago, but it will soon reappear along Elm Street so motorists can enjoy it as they drive through town.

“It’s going to make a huge statement once we finish the installation,” Mayer said. “The poles are up, but we are waiting on a few of the pieces we need to attach the mural. We hope that will be done by this spring.”

Mayer explained that the iconic “Paradise Row” mural will sit inside the Public Works building grounds so that it is less exposed to potential vandalism.

She thanked the Toppenish Rotary Club for providing funding for the poles and refurbishing the mural. The Toppenish Lions Club will also play a role in helping put the mural on display.

“We have such great partnerships with these local clubs,” Mayer said. “They’ve given us so many gifts over the years, whether it’s helping us fund these projects or contributing space for our fundraisers, or volunteers to cook the food. We wouldn’t be able to do what we do without these amazing community partners.”

Keeping with tradition, Lions Club members will be cooking the steaks — donated by another longtime partner, Washington Beef — for the March 29 Auction Dinner. The dinner will be held at the Toppenish Eagles Club, yet another key partner for the Mural Society.

Tickets for the Auction Dinner are on sale now through the Toppenish Visitors Center. Cost is $40 per person and $300 for a table of eight. Donations are also welcome, Mayer said. If you are interested in attending, call 509-865-3262 or email yourtoppenishchamber@gmail.com. 

Later this month, on Feb. 20 at 6 p.m., the Mural Society will hold a meeting at the Visitors Center, when it will be looking to elect a new member.

“We encourage any community members who are interested in participating in the Mural Society to join us,” Mayer said, adding that the board will also be electing its officers and discussing plans for the next year.

Among those plans is an effort to create mural No. 82, dedicated to the late Mike Chandler, who died in an avalanche in March of last year. Chandler had expressed an interest in creating a mural at the Toppenish General Store on First Avenue — which he owned — and his family has said they would like to keep that dream alive.

“When he passed away, his family asked for donations to create a new mural,” Mayer said of the longtime Toppenish Rotary Club member. “We have received a lot of support so far, and we’re getting closer to making a decision.”

The next step will be to complete the design and select an artist. The Mural Society has been in close contact with Chandler’s family about the next steps in the process.

“We’re hoping to use some of his old pictures to help us create the design concept,” Mayer said. “Once we agree on the design, we can hopefully get started on it later this year.”