Dave Leder

The Toppenish Mural Society is wrapping up a successful summer after refurbishing four more murals with the help of some experienced local and regional artists.

Tri-Cities artist Don Brown returned to town this summer to refurbish “Long Route, Short Day,” and “Special Delivery,” and he plans to return in September to touch up “Blacksmith.” 

Brown has contributed to many Toppenish murals over the years, and he is responsible for the three most recent creations on the façade of Blue Sky Market between 2020 and 2023. The third installment, commissioned by the Campbell family, became the 81^st mural in the city’s collection.

Board member Karen Gulley Wesselius refurbished “Indian Stick Games” and oversaw the re-installation and refurbishment of “Paradise Row” at the Public Works Building on Asotin Avenue earlier this year. 

Toppenish High School art teacher Oscar Ramirez worked alongside Gulley Wesselius on that project, which involved mounting “Paradise Row” on posts outside of Public Works.

“We are excited to bring in some other great artists to help us,” board president Janet Mayer said, adding that another local artist, Deana Paulson, will be updating “Indian Horse Races” this fall. “Don will be here in September, and we’re hoping to get another one done before the weather turns.”

Additionally, the Mural Society will be applying sealant to each of the murals that have undergone improvements. “Paradise Row” is most in need of attention, Mayer noted.

“We have to put on a cap to stop the water from running down the mural,” she said. “That one is our priority, but we plan to seal the others this fall as well.”

Not all of the news this summer has been good, however. Mayer reported that a fire damaged “Rodeo” and the lower half of the piece will need to be redone. The lower section of the mural is currently covered in plywood and will likely take some time to re-create. 

Another mural titled “All Aboard” was vandalized by graffiti and sustained significant damage. 

“It was pretty disappointing to have those things happen right after Don was here because we were just building some momentum,” Mayer said. “But we are grateful that it doesn’t happen very often. We just want people to show respect for the murals.”

Another important milestone this summer was the addition to QR codes to legends posted on each of the murals around town. Most of them now feature a legend that displays a code linking to a website called Otocast, providing visitors with audio descriptions of the artwork.

Mayer said most of the new legends have been mounted, but she explained that a number of murals and their legends can’t be refurbished because of their decaying plaster or plywood surface. Among the faded murals are “Barn Dances” and “Maud Bowlin,” and two others on First Avenue next to O’Reilly Auto Parts and the Dollar Tree. 

“We will eventually have to re-do them,” she said. “But that will probably be down the road, once we finish up the refurbishing work.”

The Mural Society is beginning to discuss plans for a return of Mural In A Day, the popular community event where volunteers join together to create a new installment for the collection. While a brand-new mural may not be completed during next summer’s event, there is talk about refurbishing “Clearing the Land” instead.

“It’s been a few years since we’ve done Mural In A Day, but we would really like to bring it back — even if it’s just to touch up an existing mural,” Mayer said. 

The latest installment — which would be No. 82 — is currently in the planning stages and work could begin as early as next year. The Chandler family has been seeking donations and working on the design of a mural to honor longtime Lower Valley resident Mike Chandler, who died in March 2024.

Mayer and her colleagues remain encouraged by everything they have accomplished over the past two years, which included 11 more mural refurbishments in 2024.

The Mural Society plans to continue refurbishing and sealing additional murals in the coming years to help Toppenish maintain its four-decade legacy as the “City of Murals.”

“We’ve seen a few new members over the past couple of years, and it’s been nice to see a renewed interest in this work,” Mayer said. “It’s important that we keep things going in a positive direction.”