About this project

Help us paint the town! Greenwood Lake used to get "painted red" in it's heyday. We want to bring back some color by painting a mural at its entry.

Greenwood Lake was once a mecca for the socialites of NYC. It's only an hour away by car, offers a gorgeous 9 mile long lake, beaches, and great local history. Babe Ruth made this his summer home, and New York State's first African American Vacation Community (founded in 1919!) is here. Langston Hughes along with many other notables, was a part of that.

More about Greenwood Lake here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenwood_lake

and here:

http://www.villageofgreenwoodlake.org/

The village is making some big strides, and a come-back is inevitable if it continues on this creative path toward revitalization. There is a concert series at the main beach in the summer. The village hall is being renovated and beautifully landscaped. Some cool new shops have opened including a bakery, dance school, hip cafe, accessory shop, and yoga studio! The village's Revitalization Committee is vital and their growing commitment is gaining momentum. You can help us attract more creativity to this little gem of a village.

We want to keep the momentum going with a beautiful mural. The subject of the piece will be Greenwood Lake's unique events, people and places. For example, our village runs a bed race(!) and we have a very cool winter carnival when the lake freezes over. We are going to be taking submissions from local artists, and are offering a stipend for the submission that is chosen by our jury of local leaders and cultural ambassadors.

This project will give our residents something creative to rally around. Our artists will get a chance to think about how they see their village. Our businesses will benefit from the exposure, and the mural will be a beacon for those entering our village from the New Jersey side of the lake. Who knows, it may even inspire people to walk more.

To pay our artists, promote, and buy supplies, we have a grant from Orange County Tourism. But we can't use it to pay for a crucial part of the process, the liability insurance. The building owner's only condition in allowing us to do this project, was that we have our own insurance policy. That is where you come in. Help us raise the insurance fees, and be a part of painting Greenwood Lake .... lots of colors!

***This project is made possible, in part, with funds from Orange County Tourism and the County of Orange.