A recent appearance in The St. Augustine Report

Public art for community - youth lead the way

It takes a village to raise a child - and a community to establish public art, like the recently completed mosaic wall at the entrance to the Calhoun Community Center.
The combined efforts of some 100 youth, under the guiding eyes of artists Wendy McDaniel and Corrie Borglund, created the mosaic tribute to youthful energy. They came from the after school programs at American Legion Post 194, Boys and Girls Club, Collier-Blocker-Puryear Park and Solomon Calhoun Center.
Groups supporting the three-month effort included county government, West Augustine CRA, and 450 Next (Young Professionals of St. Augustine), connected through the St. Johns Cultural Council.

Plans are under way!

We're very excited with how the project is progressing.

Wendy McDaniel and Corrie have been chosen as our artists and managers. Their selected medium, Mosaic Tile! They will be involving the children of the West Augustine community in the process. It has been decided that the conference room of the Calhoun Center will be used as the studio to create the mural pieces. All materials will also be stored there.

The children from the Boys & Girls Club, American Legion and Calvin Peete after school programs will be driven to the Calhoun Center by their own buses to work on the project. Volunteers from 450NEXT and YPO will assist in the production.

Wendy and Corrie are now coordinating with Greg White to order and store the materials.

Juneteenth Celebration

The Juneteenth Celebration was a success! The '65 Sport Van flew the 450Next banner in the parade to kick off the event. Our tent attracted kids immediately due to the 20 foot inflatable monster truck bounce house that rose behind it! The only requirement to jump, they had to paint a picture. And the paint began to fly! When the dust settled we saw some great talent! Sharks, houses, self portraits, hearts, boats and some very interesting abstract creations in an array of colors.

As the kids waited in line to paint, we were able to speak to the parents about our project and vision, and it was very well received. The only thing we wished we had was a "leave-behind" to pass out.

After sampling a few hot dogs and some garlic crabs we all agreed it was a successful day and look forward to the next step!

Here are some photos:

View Cheryl's Photos

Top 4 chosen

We have narrowed the list to 4.

1. Public Art
   a. Lighthouse
   b. Lion
   
2. Public Mural
   
3. Recycling Awareness
   
4. Local Recreational Sports Team

Community farming

Community farming

Community service festival

Community service festival

Live Music at the Pier

Live music at the pier – charge more money and have vendors sell food.

Waterpark

Waterpark (i.e., aquatica)

Recreation Sports

Local recreational sports teams i.e., paintball, kickball, bowling

Staffing Service

Staffing service for the dog park, the farmer’s market, expand community volunteerism.

Active Young Professionals

My friend Lauren Titus' idea:

One thing this town needs is more publicity about the young professionals who are becoming active in the community. This is a very encouraging sign and we should be hearing more about positive news these days. Also, seeing that there is a thriving professional circle in St. Augustine does much to encourage other young people who are just starting out to stick around and participate in the town, the area...