As a lasting tribute to its centennial, St. Stephen’s Anglican Church has added a large mural to the wall near its rose garden.
The mural, finished last week, features a surreal oak tree and Okanagan landscape.
The oak tree was chosen to balance with an oak tree on the other side of the building.
That tree was planted by the Girl Guides in June, 1953, at the time of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth.
The mural background is water, hills and vegetation reminiscent of the colours in the Okanagan Valley.
Rev. Rick Paulin of St. Stephen’s said the mural was planned carefully to enhance the garden and the rest of the street.
“We thought that would beautify the whole area and celebrate our centennial,” he said.
The mural design is based on the work of an artist whose paintings were popular a century ago, at the time the church was built.
The design was presented to the church earlier this year and painting began in late May.
Larry Hunter, the artist who also painted the mural on the fruit packing house and the horseshoe building in Memorial Park, was hired to paint the scene.
Paulin said the mural cost around $5,500. Money for the work came from donations and from the church’s general operating account.