Mural proposed for The Rosters Sports Club Bar and Grill (image courtesy of the City of Vernon/Rosters)

By Liam Verster

Sport, community & nature

Heron mural gets city support to fly

Aug 17, 2022 | 5:00 AM

The proposed mural for The Rosters Sports Club Bar and Grill will be going up in coming weeks.

Vernon council approved the installation and the design of the mural at its meeting Monday, Aug. 15.

“We’re really pleased to hear that the council approved the mural application,” Rosters co-owner, Anya Hollands, told Vernon Matters.

“I think it raises attention to the heronry next door to us, which is really important to us and the community and I think it will also be a beautiful piece of art.”

The mural that features a large heron with an image of a digital scoreboard was designed by artists, Lacey Jane and Layla Folkmann.

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The piece pays homage to the nearby Blue Heron sanctuary.

“The idea was really just to show the intersection of sport, community and nature,” said Hollands.

“We thought that would be kind of a good theme that would bring together what our business is about as well as the neighbouring heronry, which is very prominent in the area.”

The mural will be installed on the west facing wall of the sports club at 2319 53rd Ave.

Jane and Folkmann, both of whom are B.C.-based artists, have been involved in the production of over 100 murals across Canada, including one in Rutland.

The artists are currently involved in another mural project in Peachland, but Hollands said, that piece should be done soon, and then they can begin painting the heron mural.

“They’re tentatively supposed to start at the end of this week, obviously subject to any delays regarding their current project, but they tell me they’re hoping to start on Friday (Aug. 19),” said Hollands.

“I think it should be (completed) within a couple of weeks.”

In addition to the raising awareness of the Blue Heron Sanctuary through the mural, Rosters is supporting the Vernon Heron Protection Society with a drink special.

The Roster is selling what it has called the Blue Heron Cocktail with $2 from every sale going to the society. Rosters is also accepting cash donations to support the cause.

“We’ve built a relationship with [the society] over the years and have supported them in the past and continue to do so,” Hollands said.

“We just wanted to really have a goal of supporting them as much as possible to maintain the heron property as well as help with their efforts towards rescue of the animals, which was a big issue back in the heat wave last year, for instance. They were instrumental in helping save a number of herons who were suffering from heat-related illness.”

The fundraiser is running through the month of August, and while Hollands could not say how much had been raised so far, she said the campaign seems to be a success, with lots of drinks sold and several cash donations coming in over the past few weeks.

The money will be provided to the Heron Protection Society in September, who will be able to use the money to support their operations.