City of Lloydminster staff, business owners and volunteers gathered to unveil this summer’s downtown mural project, designed by Amber Fast. Jeannette Benoit-Leipert
A group of dedicated volunteers has made the streets of downtown Lloydminster much brighter.
Lloydminster Family and Community Support Services (FCSS), along with the City of Lloydminster and local businesses, have pitched in to cover some graffiti on the north end of the Tandoori Tadka restaurant, located behind May Cinema 6.
“This year we did a pop-art-themed sunglasses mural. We try to reflect different personalities … and ‘looking on the bright side of life’ is the quote we have up there just because we like to make it nice and bright and appealing to people,” said Amber Fast, art programmer for the Lloydminster Museum and Archives.
“The best part is seeing the kids come out, having fun, smiling and contributing to the community.”
Fast started helping with downtown murals back in 2021 when she worked with Levi Wolfe on the mural at the back of Hot Peppers Clothing.
“I just love giving back to the community, honestly, and volunteering has always been something very important to me,” said Fast.
“If I can give the younger generation a little bit of a chance to contribute to the community and see how it feels and what you can accomplish, then it’s totally worth it.”
Teagan Davies has worked on the downtown murals for four consecutive years. When asked what part of the artwork was his favourite, he said he liked the Harry Potter glasses.
“Four years—that speaks volumes. He wouldn’t have come back if he didn’t enjoy it,” said Mayor Gerald Aalbers, who spoke during the unveiling of the mural on Aug. 31.
“I think this project covers many different parts of Lloydminster. Involving our youth—that is critical, making them feel part of the community for cleaning up the community.”
Aalbers said support from local businesses and volunteers is really what makes the project successful.
“Involving businesses supporting the community, such as Home Depot (providing the paint), Domino’s Pizza supporting the kids to feed them after they’ve been out for a couple of hours. Volunteers from the RCMP, and from the city staff as well as the community.”
The FCSS team started the mural projects downtown nearly a decade ago.
“This is tremendous … we see something beautiful come from this and, touch wood, people have left graffiti off the walls that have been painted. Hats off to the community. Thank you for supporting it,” said Aalbers.
