Painting the Island Red, White, and Blue

The 250th birthday of the United States of America. That is no small milestone, but a landmark that will be celebrated to the utmost in many festivities reverberated throughout the nation.

Here on our small Island, a close-knit group of longtime residents is seeking to both make their mark in the celebration and simultaneously bring back a small piece of community charm that they recall from days long gone.

“There's a group of us on the island, and we've been around forever,” Nick Campo, spokesperson for the group said. “We remember Marco the way it used to be, and what we're trying to do is bring back some events, and this is just our first one, where we bring that family feel we used to have on the island.”

Their event is the painting of windows at the various shops within the Marco Walk Plaza. Local artists filled out an application form to signify their desire to be involved. Each party then paints their own vision on their assigned window. Their only guideline is that the painting stays within the category of paying homage to the 250th birthday and celebrating America.

“The response has been tremendous!” Campo happily stated. With over 20 individual painters from various groups, clubs, and organizations covering the windows, there will also be pre-painted banners from children’s groups and residents of The Watermark. These will be hung for display, as they won’t be painted onsite.

The owner and landlord of Marco Walk, Leon Agami, was excited about the prospect of the event when it was approached to him. He additionally arranged a space within the plaza for the event organizers to store paint and set up tables and chairs for the painters to take breaks from the heat.

After the permission was given from Agami, Campo and others within his group went to the stores at the plaza. “They were all like, ‘we'll do this!’ Then we started talking to some of the artists on the island, and then Pat started talking to some of the churches, and then we got the school involved! It's just turned into a really fun thing and we're coming to fruition now.”

Painting began the week of June 15th and will run close to the 4th, though a specific finish date is loose. “As long as we are done by the 4th!” Campo laughed.

Sunshine Ace Hardware of Marco Island is supplying the paint for the event free of charge, and the artists have been busy thinking of their project and preparing their outlines.

“It is a fun event for people and to bring awareness to the 4th. It will be nice to help some of the stores at Marco Walk, too, bring in some more people, which is always helpful,” said Campo.

Having been on the Island for forty years, Campo recalls many an event come and gone that ushered in that small-town feel, and he longs to re-create a part of that feeling through this painting event. “These are the kind of things that we're trying to bring back.”

He gratefully shared how much he enjoys the current slate of annual, seasonal, and holiday events that take place, but elaborated that events operated on a different scale in days long past.

“For those of us who've been on the island for as long as Pat, myself, and the other members of the group have, we remember those times when we were just a small island. We did things as friends and as families. If we can bring back just a little bit of that, it'd be wonderful.”

Pat Berry came up with the idea and the rest of the group jumped on it. The remaining members of the group are working hard in the background, where they wish to remain. “They’ve been in the foreground for a long time, but at this point they’re kind of enjoying their peace,” said Campo on the group’s anonymity.

The community can watch the painting progress firsthand and look forward to a colorful Marco Walk Plaza by the 4th of July!