photo by James Bobbett of the Fullerton Sunrise Rotary Club

10-year-old Andrew Stirdivant

Twenty-five volunteers gathered on Saturday, February 8, at Truslow Park, 401 E. Truslow Ave., to create a clean, welcoming outdoor space for the children of the Truslow community. The first to arrive were local community members who served coffee to eager volunteers. The Fullerton Sunrise Rotary commissioned local artist Andrew Stirdivant to direct the mural. Stirdivant assembled the paint supplies and draped a tarp over the pavement under the unfinished left half of the mural. In addition, Stirdivant‘s 10-year-old song, Andrew, carefully painted the mural’s brown background.

The unfinished mural is bold and vibrant, giving fresh, natural vibes despite simply being acrylic paint on a two-foot cement curb. Local children chose the mural’s images and visuals. Maple Elementary students drew what they would like to see on a mural in their community. Rotarian James Bobbett smiled toward large monarch butterflies on a blue background in the middle of the mural and said, “That’s where the idea for the butterflies came from.”

A tent was assembled to shade volunteers, and curious homeowners in the neighborhood began to stop by to watch the action. Since adopting Truslow Park two years ago, Rotarians, community supporters, and students gather every second Saturday of each month to offer basic maintenance such as mulching, pruning, leaf clean up, and trash pickup.

Altogether, volunteers involved in the mural agreed removing the old layers of graffiti and city paint was challenging. Despite this, it took three months of work to expose the bare cement, removing as much as ¼ inch of point in some areas.

Fullerton Sunrise Rotarians boast the slogan “People of Action”. The estimated $7,500 mural commission is funded from multiple sources. This includes the Sunrise Rotary’s annual fundraiser, the Orange County Community Foundation, and the Rotary District 5320 match fund.

If you would like to volunteer or donate, contact Fullerton Sunrise Rotary Club at fullertonsunriserotaryinfo@gmail.com.