When it comes to murals – Downtown Edmond HAS to be the hotspot these days. This past weekend, the Sunny Dayz Mural Fest took over the streets of my favorite district and… it was INCREDIBLE.
First, a bit about Sunny Dayz from their own lips:
The first-of-its-kind in Oklahoma, Sunny Dayz Mural Festival exists to empower, elevate and celebrate female and nonbinary artists and muralists through the creation and advocacy of public art.
Sunny Dayz seeks to uplift and support artists who have been subjected to inequity based on age, race, and gender. Our core values include a commitment to equitable opportunity and wages, dedicated wall space for “newbies” regardless of age, and the cultivation of our high school mentorship program that seeks to empower and educate female and nonbinary high school students interested in the arts.
This project was created in March of 2021 by Virginia Sitzes through the Oklahoma Mural Syndicate, a 501c3 nonprofit advocating for public art throughout the state of Oklahoma. Find more OMS projects and keep up to date with open calls at okmurals.org.
Our real estate team – The Duncan Group – was fortunate enough to be in a position to be a sponsor of this great event and I can’t think of a better way to spend that money.
I had the chance to walk through the booths and look at all the murals and I was blown away. I did not even get my phone out of my pocket – ha!
>>>>So – go check out their Instagram feed and stories to see all the cool things that happened!<<<<
This festival added something like 32 new murals to an already bustling district and as I walked through the lot where the stage and vendor market was, I could not help but think how perfect a setting this district is for this sort of event.
The people.
The visual art.
The music.
The atmosphere.
It all seemed like it was meant to be and, in fact, I felt like I was walking through a district for the first time. It felt perfect.
I know I get back to this quite often but in 2011 when we signed the lease on the space at 103 S Broadway, this sort of thing was just a FAR OUT dream. To see folks like Virginia and her team pull off a festival like this is great.
Quick Side note:
Back in November of 2020, another great friend – Dusty Gilpin – brought his festival to life in the alleys of Downtown Edmond..
If you have not gotten to Downtown Edmond recently – plan a trip. I’d love to talk around with you and show you the art and all the new housing and food / drink options happening all over the place here.
Reach out. I’ll buy you a coffee.