BOYLE - In honour of the tenth annual Wildberry Festival on Aug. 7, a historical mural is going to be unveiled, giving the village of Boyle a beautiful glance into their own history.
This historical-themed mural, painted by Judy Gauthier, will be featured on the west wall of the Boyle Fields store and has been in the works for nearly 16 months.
Rather than having one major focus, this piece will serve as a walk through the history for Boyle, featuring seven related paintings of different time periods and historically significant symbols.
“The beaver is there for the First Nations because that was very important symbol at that time,” Wildberry Festival organizer Alice Wlos said of the first aspect of the mural.
“The second one is in 1914 Boyle,” Wlos said. “Where the train arrives in our town and one of the fellows that was on it, possibly an engineer.”
The remaining pieces continue with this theme, taking the observers through the history of Boyle in one continuous piece featuring the hotel, railway, trucks, farms, and many more symbols representing the town through the ages.
“(Gauthier’s) got so much little detail and I’m so excited, it's going to be gorgeous,” Wlos said.
Gauthier was the perfect choice for this nearly year-and-a-half endeavour considering her previous experience in murals like Boyle’s.
“When I was in school people often asked me to draw pictures for them. Then afterwards I started doing art and going to shows and selling art, I've got work that's gone pretty much all over the world,” she said of her beginnings in art.
“Then people started asking me – I think it was the guy that owned the Hillside (Motel in Athabasca) a long time ago that asked first – to do a mural, and then I did some for (the town of) Two Hills and other different places.”
Gauthier has painted murals for nearly 40 years, bringing her artistic talents all throughout the region and even through her amassed experience, Gauthier has never experienced a painting quite like this one.
“It's not like a typical mural,” said Gauthier. “Most murals have a great big scene, this one I'm using some of my real tiny fine brushes for it because the scenes are really small in the mural.”
This mural unveiling is just one part of the annual Wildberry Festival happening this weekend.
“Our street festival is happening with the kiddie carnival and bouncy castle. There are food vendors, a RCMP exhibit, library book sales. There's a strawberry tea and quilt show at the Anglican Church,” Wlos explained.
These events and more will all be available to the public this weekend to enjoy, bringing back the festival experience we all know and love.
