Mural Marathon…It’s More Than Just Murals!

Come to Watch the Muralists. Stay for the Live Music.

 The upcoming Yuba City Mural Marathon, Art and Health Festival, April 19-21 will be a three-ring circus of art, music, health, wellness, social awareness, and community. It will be the biggest public art event of the year! While five outstanding professional mural artists are creating murals on the side of the Sutter Theater Center for the Arts right across the street there will be lots more going on. Think of it as creating public art as a spectator sport. 

Here’s the lineup of live music for Saturday, April 20^th. Things kick off at noon in the parking lot at Church and Plumas Streets adjacent to the Theater with the West Grand Brass Band all the way from Oakland. They are a high energy group of six talented musicians that combine the brass band tradition with modern musical styles and timbres. Their music takes the form of an ever-changing mix of traditional songs, re-imagined covers, and genre-expanding originals. The West Grand Brass Band prides itself in creating a party wherever they perform.  Next up is multi-instrumentalist, Jim Achilles at 2:15. Jim plays trombone and guitar and fronts his own band, Idle Fret. When not playing or acting, he is also a local music educator. 

The Fenix Drum and Dance Ensemble will perform starting at 3:30. Fenix is a world music troupe specializing in dance and drumming from West Africa, the Congo and the Caribbean. Their high energy multi-generational, multi-ethnic group highlights the richness and complexity of traditional dance and music of the African diaspora. 

Americana musician Jake Houshmond will get started at 4:45. Jake grew up playing with his dad in a Memphis-style jug band called the South Sac Jukes. He plays a multitude of instruments including guitar, washboard, jug, harmonica, and wash tub bass and is guaranteed to keep you entertained.  The musical day will wrap up with the Yuba Sutter Big Band Orchestra who will play from 6-8pm. Led by Becky Stewart, you’ll hear great dance music from the Great American Songbook with fantastic instrumentalists and singers to take you back in time to a special musical place. 

As if live music weren’t enough, on Saturday, April 20 from 11am – 3pm, there will also be artists and craftspeople displaying their work for sale. To date, the list includes Mary Ann Nation, Miranda Rolfe,  Sonja Christenson, Sinklair Art, Starberry Studio, Happy Paintings by Craig, and Roger That Bunny, 

Our project partners, the Blue Zones Project, will anchor the health information aspect of the festival and be joined by Health & Human Services of Yuba County, Sutter County Public Health, Sutter County Children & Families Commission, Casa de Esperanza, Tri-County Diversity, The Sedona Project, Yuba Sutter Habitat for Humanity, Pathways Prevention, and Soluna Mental Health.  

All of this will be happening against the magnificent backdrop of the mural artists working on the wall right across the street. It will be a sprint to the finish line for the artists and the public is invited to this free event to watch the magic happen as these stunning images unfold. 

This civic beautification and education project is being made possible thanks to a major grant received by the Yuba-Sutter Rotary Night Club from the Upstate California Creative Corps (UCCC). The project is a collaboration with the Yuba Sutter Rotary Night Club, the Blue Zones Project, the Partnership for Health, Equity and Inclusion, and Yuba Sutter Arts & Culture. The Mural Marathon is part of a larger statewide grant program to illuminate for key themes including public health awareness, awareness of environment-related issues, civic engagement, social justice, and community engagement. The murals and adjacent festival address all these objectives.

The public may also be part of an adjacent Chalk Art Festival. Chalk will be provided for a pilot chalk art project on the surrounding sidewalks. A community mural project will take shape as everyone is invited to “Paint A Picket.” Paints and fence boards will be provided for all to paint a portrait for an upcoming art installation. More information at yubasutterarts.org.