Page 14 THE REVERE ADVOCATE - Friday, June 14, 2019 Costa Park Refresh brings artistic nature back to Shirley Avenue TND Costa Park Summer Fellow Rhiannon Alter (left), volunteer Qin Li and TND Community Engagement Manager Kyla Alterman painted approximately 10 fl owers and leaves on the art mural during the Costa Park Refresh last Wednesday afternoon. (Advocate Photos by Tara Vocino) By Tara Vocino A team of volunteers came together for three days last week to breathe life back into Costa Park. During that time, volunteers beautifi ed the park by creating fl oor and recycled bottle cap art and making upgrades to the basketball court as well as painting benches. A colorful 20-flower mural was instantly noticeable and approximately 10 volunteers filled in colors on the fl owers. Mural designer Banasri Mondal said every fl ower represents a diff erent country and after the fl owers are fi lled in, volunteers will write “Welcome” in diff erent languages. “Since every child is special and has his or her own quality, every circle on the fl ower petal will be diff erent,” Mondal said. Jan Dumas, who lives across the street from the park on Walnut Avenue, collected fi ve pounds of bottle caps and designed two cap murals resembling bugs, fl owers and trees. One mural was inside the park behind a bench, and the other one was outside on a bulletin board. Neighbors collected 12 to 14 pounds of colorful bottle caps, according to Dumas. “The fl owers remind us of new beginnings and spring,” Dumas said. “I hope it will be here for a long time.” The Neighborhood Developers (TND) Costa Park Summer Fellow Rhiannon Alter sorted caps with Dumas for approximately three hours, temporarily gluing them on. The city will drill them in to secure them. “I like seeing the community get better for summer,” Alter said. Vanny Huot also helped with the indoor mural. For the outdoor mural, Dumas had a sketch of what she envisioned. “It represents a tree and bringing nature into the community since we don’t have much [nature] here,” Dumas said. The colorful bottle caps, or leaves, represented diff erent seasons and creatures. Behind the tree was a solid black wooden frame. TND Community EngageShown in the front row are fl oor mural artist Banasri Mondal, Bulletin board artist Jan Dumas, Neelix and Painter/Cap mural artist Nora Janjar. Shown in the back row are outdoor Rx Program Coordinator Cassie Baker, The Neighborhood Developers (TND) Summer Costa Fellow Rhiannon Alter, Planning Committee member/TND Board Member Kristen Janjar, TND Community Engagement Manager Kyla Alterman, TND Director of Community Engagement and Collective Impact Vicente Sanabria and Ward 2 Councillor Ira Novoselsky. They took an ice cream break from refreshing Costa Park last Wednesday night. ment Manager Kyla Alterman said it was fun to watch the children’s expressions as they entered the park, which was open during reconstruction. Some of them off ered to help paint after they played on the new equipment. “It’s a great collaboration between volunteers, using grant-funded supplies,” Alterman said. Yasser Medoud, 5, was throwing a basketball into the new blue basketball hoop. “I like how it looks now,” Yaseer said. “It’s so beautiful, and I’m going to have fun on it.” Tara Vocino may be reached at printjournalist1@gmail.com. Mural designer Banasri Mondal said every flower represents a different country. Outdoor Rx Pr ogram Coordinator Cassie Baker painted a bright blue fl ower on the mural during the Costa Park Refresh last Wednesday afternoon. Volunteers Pamela Ross and Jan Dumas stand in front of the developing fl oor mural at Costa Park Refresh last Wednesday night. Yasmin Medoud, 4 (left), Yasser Medoud, 5, and Ryan Aadouche, 10 (center), play basketball on the new Costa Park court last Wednesday afternoon. TND Costa Park Summer Fellow Rhiannon Alter, Neelix and Caps mural artist Jan Dumas kneel in front of the recycled bottle cap flowers that they created, respectively. TND Costa Park Summer Fellow Rhiannon Alter and Caps mural artist Jan Dumas painted this tree made out of bottle caps (flowers) and paint to bring more nature into the space, which doesn’t have a lot.
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