The Village of Ryley unveiled its Canada 150 Mosaic on July 19, 2017. Janet Winsnes, who spearheaded the project, was thrilled to have the final product displayed on Ryley’s main street with Ryley Mayor Lavonne Svenson, and Councillors Lorraine Warren-Nimeck and Brain Ducherer in attendance. Many locals also joined in on the excitement.
This project started 2 years ago when St. Albert artist Lewis Lavoie had a vision of creating 150 mosaic murals that would be produced from all across Canada to celebrate Canada’s 150th birthday. Each mural is based on a railroad theme, and each municipality involved represents one railway car along the tracks; either a flat deck or a box car.
Mrs. Winsnes was quick to point to the uniqueness of Ryley’s situation. “Ryley is the smallest municipality in Canada to undertake the production of a mural,” she explained.
The mural is a 8 square feet with over 400 square tiles, each four inches by four inches. Both the Ryley School and Holden school students, teachers and staff painted a total of 270 tiles. The remaining tiles where painted by residents of the community at the Ryley Summer Bust Out Festival on June 17, 2017.
The village would like to acknowledge the financial contributions of Clean Harbors and Beaver Municipal Solutions, as well as the Alberta Treasury Branch in Ryley for supplying the space where the mural will hang. The citizens of Ryley are proud of their mural, and look forward to enjoying its presence for years to come.