Mural festival will transform buildings in Holland's eastcore neighborhood

Evan Sasiela, The Holland Sentinel
·3 min read
Organizers are hopeful an annual mural festival will help showcase the beauty of Holland’s eastcore neighborhood.
Organizers are hopeful an annual mural festival will help showcase the beauty of Holland’s eastcore neighborhood.

HOLLAND — Organizers are hopeful an annual mural festival will help showcase the beauty of Holland’s eastcore neighborhood.

Holland's Tulip City Walls Mural Festival will run Thursday-Sunday, July 27-30. It's presented by 3Sixty, a community development organization in eastcore, according to a news release.

The public is invited to watch artists transform the walls of five eastcore businesses at the festival venue, which is Columbia Avenue between 17th Street and 20th Street. Information about the festival is available online at tulipcitywalls.com.

Lori Appeldoorn, one of the event organizers, said members of 3Sixty have knocked on 800 front doors in eastcore for the last 18 months to hear what residents would like to see in their neighborhood. There were 264 people who said they’d like to see a “flourishing” eastcore neighborhood, Appeldoorn said.

“Overwhelmingly, everyone said they wanted more color, more art, more beauty,” Appeldoorn said. “We're attempting to put a little art, color and beauty into the neighborhood by having the mural festival.”

The festival is based on Bright Walls in Jackson. Organizers consulted with Bright Walls Executive Director Clay McAndrews, who gave them the information they needed to bring artists to the festival, Appeldoorn said.

Artists this year include:

  • Jeksone of Greensboro, North Carolina

  • Krystal Cooke and AJ Appeldoorn of Flint

  • Jeremy Flores of Corpus Christi, Texas

  • Tukeone of Denver

  • Kevin Burdick of Flint

  • Chris Garcia of Holland

Appeldoorn said the artists’ murals will focus on the stories of people in the neighborhood.

“We’re one of the most diverse neighborhoods in Holland," Appeldoorn said. "We love our neighbors, we love our neighborhood, but the broader Holland community doesn’t know us very well. We’re going to have this festival to celebrate the neighborhood’s diversity but open up the neighborhood, so the broader Holland community can come and enjoy all that is eastcore.”

Subscribe: Get unlimited access to our local coverage

Special events are scheduled throughout the festival. Food trucks and a beer tent will be available Thursday-Saturday.

A dog parade and pageant is set for 5-7 p.m. Thursday, July 27, starting at Prospect Park and continuing down Columbia Avenue to the festival venue. The Holland Police Department’s K-9 Unit will serve as the parade grand marshals. Prizes will be awarded for best costume, best in pageant and talent.

There will be 16 area nonprofits available from 3-7 p.m. Friday, July 28, to present overviews of resources they offer to the public. City on the Hill and Lighthouse Immigration Services will also conduct an immunization drive.

The public can participate in a Mini Mural Chalk Contest from 10 a.m.-12 p.m. Saturday, July 29, at Prospect Park. The Mitten Vintage Market also runs 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday at Columbia Avenue and 20th Street with more than 25 vendors.

The festival concludes with a Cars and Coffee event from 10 a.m.-12 p.m. Sunday, July 30. Antique cars will be on display, with coffee from Simpatico.

“We really want this neighborhood to flourish,” Appeldoorn said. “We’re putting events together to help make that happen.”

— Contact reporter Evan Sasiela at esasiela@sentinel-standard.com. Follow him on Twitter @SalsaEvan.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Mural festival will transform buildings in Holland's eastcore neighborhood