FAIRMONT, W.Va. (WBOY) — On Thursday, a new mural was unveiled at Palatine Park in Fairmont.
The mural was painted by Fairmont State Professor Joel Dugan and designed by his wife Lyndsey Dugan.
It was unveiled to celebrate the Sounds Good Festival which showcases regional music and artists. The creator of the festival, Aristotle Jones, said the mural is a visual representation of all the excitement in music that is going on in the area.
“Being able to have beautiful works of art like this, it defines our narrative from the inside out and lets you know how proud we are of creative expression and new creative projects in the area,” Jones said. “I’m just bubbling over with joy. I think it’s amazing.”
Lyndsey’s design of the mural was inspired by the Fairmont community and their hometown pride.
“It’s just about celebrating our landmarks, celebrating the beautiful riverfront, celebrating what a gem Palatine Park is and then the arts in general, how that comes together to sort of paint the picture of what an inclusive sort of forward-thinking community we actually do have in Marion County and how much interest from all of us creatives from the community from all of the performing arts the visual arts design and then our local governments, all play a role to bring this together,” Lyndsey said.
The Sounds Good Festival will be on Saturday, June 25 at Palatine Park in Fairmont at 4 p.m. The festival will feature live bands, artists selling their work, T-shirt and sticker-making stations.
This will be the second time Jones has put on the festival. He explained that coming together with festivals like his is important because they provide a way to connect through creativity.
“That’s who you are on the inside,” Jones said about creativity in people. “That’s all the thoughts that you’re having throughout your day that maybe you don’t get to share and when you can express a creative thought to someone, and they understand you, that’s where community starts to build.”
He said last year’s festival had a great turnout, and he expects the support to continue into this year.
“I’m looking forward to seeing all the smiling faces and all the fun that people have at the event this year,” Jones said.