New City Market mural a reflection of the community

Those visiting or just passing by the City Market on North Market Street will now be greeted by the mural “We Are Community”. For owners Bill and Marion Booth, it creates a vision of what the City Market is all about. “It represents everything I feel about our community and what the community represents,” said Bill. “There are sailboats, crabs, African colors, flowers, and butterflies. I tip my hat to artist Yvonne Curtis, who did a beautiful job. I couldn’t have asked for a better design. I couldn’t be happier.”

“I thank Bill and Marion for the opportunity to create the mural and all of the people in the neighborhood who watched over me,” said Curtis. “I would leave my paints and supplies here while taking a break and everything would be fine. There was a gentleman right across the street who had been watching me the whole time to make sure I was safe. My thanks to all of the neighbors.”

The Booths started the City Market back in 2017 to address the needs of local farmers who were looking for a public place to sell their excess crops. From that day it has continued to grow. “At the time there was no place in Washington for people to just come and meet without costs or restrictions, so we provided that. Every year for the past five years we have served up meals for hundreds of people at Thanksgiving, Christmas, and once during the summer. We have had family reunions, weddings, voter registration,and family movie nights under the pavilion. Every Saturday morning a local family is here to sell their produce. And it is within walking distance for those without transportation. The market continues to serve the community in so many ways.”

The words “We Are Community” were inspired by Bill’s wife Marion. Words that mean a lot to her. “They say it all in terms of who we are as a community and our mission and vision for the City Market,” said Marion. “Every aspect of the mural encompasses what we had in mind and welcomes folks to come out and enjoy. Anyone who looks at it will be able to personally relate to something they see. And I love the sunflowers as they represent family and community to me.”

The Booths feel blessed to have been given this opportunity to share the market with the community. “Our nonprofit Alpha Life Enrichment has helped to make all of this possible,” said Booth. “We represent the community, we are the community, and the community understands that this is their place. The mural is just an exclamation point on all that we do together.”

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