Upcoming Unveiling of Pride Mural at Rye Town Park
For the 3rd annual year, the pRYEde community group is hosting the youth-led community mural project. The mural unveiling will occur at the upcoming Pride Celebration as one of many events at Rye Town Park this Saturday, June 10th. These activities build on the Pride flag raisings held around Rye last Thursday in honor of Pride month.
This initiative, led by pRYEde and local artist Donna Wundeler, brings together students from the LGBTQ+ community and their allies across Westchester. The project involves brainstorming and painting a large-scale outdoor mural that aims to be positive, inspirational, and impactful for the community. The dimensions of this year’s mural are 16 feet wide by 4 feet tall.
The Creative Process
The creation process is designed to empower students, allowing them to exercise their creativity and make a lasting impact. With the guidance of pRYEde and artist Wundeler, students have been given the freedom to determine the content and design of the mural. As in previous years, the mural combines the ideas of numerous students into one piece of collaborative art. It carries a message of love and pride, encapsulating the spirit of the community. After being unveiled, the mural will be moved and shared around different communities, allowing more people to experience its message.
Last year’s mural, “Change Makers,” is currently on display in Lyon Park in Port Chester for June to celebrate Pride Month and the mural from 2021 is installed in the Rye High School cafeteria. The previous murals have provided a meaningful and hands-on experience for the students involved and convey powerful messages that resonate with the broader community.
Saturday’s Pride Schedule
The unveiling of the mural will take place this Saturday, June 10th, at Rye Town Park as part of the park’s Pride celebration. The festivities will begin at 9:00 a.m. and include:
- A Pride flag raising at 9:30 a.m.
- A Pride parade along the Playland boardwalk at 9:45 a.m.
- The unveiling of the student-created mural at 10:15 a.m.
- The Pride Fair from 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. in the Pavilions at Rye Town Park.
At the Pride Fair, there will be live performances by Christina Picciano, the frontwoman of the Ossining Band “All My Friends” and Artist in Residence at The LOFT. There will also be readings of poetry by queer poets featured in the Rye Poetry Park, an excerpt from the musical “Jackson Crash,” and a reading by teen activist, model, and influencer Desmond Is Amazing from their book, “Be Amazing: A History of Pride.”
Moreover, the Pride Fair will feature a range of local organizations offering crafts, refreshments, and valuable resources to the community. Some of the participating organizations include; pRYEde Community Group, Rye Youth Council, RyeACT, Rye YMCA, Friends of Rye Town Park, Rye Poetry Path, Rye Arts Center, Joint Libraries Tables (Rye Free Reading Room, Harrison Public Library, Port Chester-Rye Brook Public Library), The LOFT, PrideWorks, WJSC Center Lane, GLSEN Lower Hudson Valley, and Florence Taylor, a face painter.
MyRye.com 2022 Mural Coverage:
https://myrye.com/2022/06/pride-shines-in-rye-town-park-flag-raised-mural-unveiled.html
MyRye.com 2021 Mural Coverage:
https://myrye.com/2021/06/pride-mural-unveiled-at-rye-town-park.html
