“Orangevale now has a bright, new colorful mural along Greenback Lane to welcome visitors to their community and I can’t wait for ours to be finished,” said Gigi Rayford, director of Citrus Heights Arts.

CITRUS HEIGHTS, CA (MPG) - Work on a new Auburn Boulevard community mural spelling out “Welcome to Citrus Heights” is expected to resume as a new fundraising effort is underway to offset the cost of needed painted and materials, said Gigi Rayford, director of Citrus Heights Arts who is actively leading the project.

The first completed panel of the mural was finished late last year before work stopped.

The first completed panel near the corner of Auburn Boulevard and Cobalt Way identifies Auburn Boulevard as part of the original U.S. 40 and features a red and white milepost sign with a guidepost marker set against blooming orange poppies that the city of Sacramento is just 14 and a half miles away.

The community arts project is being coordinated by Citrus Heights Arts with participating private property owners and the city of Citrus Heights.

The individual outline of some of the 22 individual letters which will include the city’s name is being painted along a 50-foot portion of a residential block retaining wall along Auburn Boulevard starting at Cobalt Way.

Rayford hopes sufficient individual sponsors will step forward and help adopt an individual letter so the mural can be completed this summer.

“The muralists I know and have worked with are ready to go,” she said. The overall design of the mural is also being finalized.

The individual outline of some of the 22 individual letters which will include the city’s name is being painted along a 50-foot portion of a residential block retaining wall along Auburn Boulevard starting at Cobalt Way.

Rayford sees this collaborative public art project as a reflection of the creative imagination of all who bring each of the 22 individual letters spelling out “Welcome to Citrus Heights,” against a colorful floral backdrop fully to life.

The non-profit Citrus Heights Arts has also partnered with Orangevale-Fair Oaks Arts (OVFO) which is working on similar civic murals in Orangevale and Fair Oaks sharing ideas, designs and engaging a network of muralists across the three communities, Rayford said.

“Orangevale now has a bright, new colorful mural along Greenback Lane to welcome visitors to their community and I can’t wait for ours to be finished,” Rayford said.

The letter adoption fundraiser isn’t new, she said.

“The famous Hollywood sign in the Hollywood Hills was saved by the people of Los Angeles all coming together to restore the historic sign,” she said.

Rayford estimates the cost for the purchase of paint, brushes, and supplies to be $200 per letter,” she said. The likely overall cost for completion of the Auburn Boulevard mural is projected to be about $4,400, she said.

When the new “Welcome to Citrus Heights” themed mural along Auburn Boulevard is finished, its vibrant color and artistic design will reflect the deep pride its residents have in their city, and in their neighborhoods.

“Help bring this new Citrus Heights community mural to life by adopting a letter in the mural message, “Welcome to Citrus Heights.”

“Each adopted letter will help support the creation and installation of this community mural while giving sponsors the opportunity to be recognized as part of a lasting public art project,” she said.

Sponsors are encouraged to contact Gigi Rayford for more information at: [email protected].