Mural dedications happening today, next week in Hamilton: What to know

Dedications have been scheduled for two of the three StreetSpark murals that have been painted in Hamilton this summer, with the first happening today.

The first dedication will happen 5:30 p.m. today to celebrate the mural called Garden Parade, which was painted on a long fence in the city’s Jefferson Park, which is located at the corner of East and Hensley avenues.

Designed by Lizzy DuQuette, who also was the lead painter of the mural, Garden Parade shows a colorful group of children playing among giant sunflowers and garden creatures. DuQuette is a Cincinnati multi-media artist, illustrator and teaching artist. Also painting the mural were Emilie Abrams and Sarah Baker.

One person looking forward to the ceremony is Frank Pfirman of Matandy Steel. He and his wife, Joanne Pfirman, both Hamilton natives, donated the property for the park. It’s across the street from the Boys & Girls Club of Hamilton.

“The city has done just a marvelous job with making that into a nice for the kids down there,” Frank Pfirman said. “I already saw the mural, and it’s really neat.”

Steve Timmer, director of the Hamilton Parks Conservancy, which manages Hamilton’s 50 parks and other facilities, took the lead in transforming the property from vacant land into an attractive area with playground equipment, the fence along an edge of the park, which became the canvas for the mural.

The dedication ceremony is free and open to the public Organizers ask that all who attend wear face masks and practice social distancing.

The next ceremony will happen 5:30 p.m. Sept. 2, a Wednesday, at 802 Heaton St., in the North End neighborhood, where a building’s blank exterior wall was painted with a dramatic mural, called Ro-Bros, depicting two large robot brothers against a vibrant background. The imagery is intended to represent the industrial might of Hamilton through the decades. It was designed and painted by Logan Walden, with help from Kinsey Downs and Jamie Schorsch.

Eyes of the robots make use of existing windows of the building.

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