Tracey Philips has been eager to find a way to weave a mural into Hopedale for some time.

The president of the Friends of Historic Hopedale said she saw the Fairy Walk as a perfect opportunity.

“I’ve wanted to see a mural in Hopedale for awhile now. My son was an artist and a few years ago I volunteered in his memory with Pow Wow Worcester (part of a world wide network of festivals that brings mural artists together to paint murals in different cities). Since then I’ve really been looking for a way to make one happen here in town. The Hopedale Fairy Walk seemed like a great way to make that happen,” she said. “Since the … walk would have been in its fourth year, it seemed like a good time to add something new and special to the day.”

So Philips partnered with the Hopedale Park Commission, and launched a mural contest. It was for 15 – 21-year-olds living in Worcester County. They were asked to submit their design ideas for a wing mural.  

“We concentrated on that age group because we feel that there is a lot of talent in that age range that we wanted to try to help showcase,” she said. 

Coming out on top with the winning design was Annabelle O’Reilly, a 2020 graduate of Blackstone Valley Tech High School. The mural is painted on the back of the Hopedale Bath House Park Commission garage, which is located by Hopedale Pond and the entrance to the Hopedale Parklands.  

Philips said, “Annabelle finished painting the mural in just 13 painting days! Once she was finished, I applied 3 coats of a clear coat to keep it protected.”

she was thankful for the community support.

“New England Pressure Cleaning donated their time and services to clean off the garage for us so we would have a nice surface for painting. All of the paint and supplies were donated to us by Zachary Booth at the Sherwin Williams Paint Store on Cedar Street in Milford,” she said.

The Friends of Historic Hopedale is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to historic preservation, charitable giving and community philanthropic and educational purposes. It hosts several fundraisers each year to enable it to help in the community with college scholarships, partnering with other local groups for special projects and town events that promote a sense of community to all involved.  

Philips said, “We currently do all of that with just eight awesome members!”

She said she hopes many visitors will come by and enjoy the new mural, and reminded those who do pose with the wings, to use hashtags if they post them on social media: #hopedalefairywalk #artintheparklands #hopedaleparklands.