BENSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Cities across the country are celebrating America's 250th birthday this year, and Benson is joining the festivities with a new community art project.
Benson Clean and Beautiful, a nonprofit organization that has had multiple murals painted in the city, is working with the City of Benson and the community to bring a patriotic mural to life. The finished mural will be unveiled on the Fourth of July at the city's celebration.
Right now, a wall at the Benson library serves as a reminder not to park there. In a few months, it will be transformed into a mural made up of 650 individual tiles to remind people of America's 250th birthday.
"From a distance, it will be a flag and an eagle, and above it, we'll say America 250, but when you get close to the mural, you will always, years from now, be able to pick out which was your unique tile," Gayle Faath, a volunteer with Benson Clean and Beautiful, said.
Community members can purchase and paint the tiles on Saturday at Lions Park from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Faath says the tiles are $5 each, just covering the costs of materials, and have to be painted at the park to ensure all of the tiles make it onto the completed mural.
"Your kids or your grandkids, have them paint one or paint one for them, and whenever you bring them to the library, you can go find your tile. I mean, years from now, how great is that," Faath said.
The mural project is a great way to celebrate America's birthday, and similar projects are happening across the country.
"It's being done across the country. We're doing it a little bit uniquely here that besides painting your tile, we're going to have blank tiles for everyone who participates. They're going to get to sign or initial a tile, and that will be a border," Faath said.
"Because everybody who wants to can participate in it right now," Faath said.
Saturday is the only scheduled event to purchase and paint. Faath says they will add more events if they have tiles available after Saturday.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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Alexis Ramanjulu is a reporter in Cochise County for KGUN 9. She began her journalism career reporting for the Herald/Review in Sierra Vista, which she also calls home. Share your story ideas with Alexis by emailing alexis.ramanjulu@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook.
