(Michigan City, IN) - Walker Street Park Community Garden in Michigan City marked the close of its ninth growing season Saturday with the unveiling of a new community inspired mural and its 6th Annual Harvest Festival.

 

The festivities began with a morning ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating the garden's newest addition, a colorful mural painted by artist Alex Ann Allen.

 

Facilitated by Lubeznik Center for the Arts, the project was funded through American Rescue Plan Act dollars the city directed toward neighborhood beautification. 

 

The mural, painted on the garden's new shed, was developed with direct input from Eastport neighborhood residents and garden stakeholders.

 

Through conversations and public surveys, community members identified fruits and vegetables, pollinators and native plants as their preferred themes, which Allen incorporated into the final design.

 

The project represents another milestone for Walker Street Park Community Garden, which has spent nearly a decade transforming a neighborhood space into a place for growing food, building relationships and bringing residents together.

 

“Walker Street Park Community Garden has always been about more than growing food.  It is about growing community,” said Dr. Dominique Edwards, Michigan City Planning Director and longtime garden volunteer.

 

“This mural brings even more beauty and energy to a space that residents have poured so much love and care into over the years.” Mayor Angie Nelson Deuitch said.

 

Following the ribbon-cutting, the garden welcomed the community back for its 6th Annual Harvest Festival, celebrating the conclusion of another successful growing season.