WOW Mobile to make its debut Thursday
PRESQUE ISLE — A transformed former ambulance, soon to be the region’s first-of-its-kind art studio on wheels and a rolling canvas itself, will be unveiled to the public for the first time June 20. The Wintergreen On Wheels (WOW) and TAMC in Your Town Mobile will be launched, with fanfare, this Thursday at 2 p.m., beginning with an official ceremony at TAMC, and followed by a downtown Presque Isle parade ending with an art activity for children at Riverside Park.
The results of the collaboration between TAMC and the Wintergreen Arts Center, announced earlier this spring, will be shared with the community at an event, open to the public, just outside the Crown Ambulance building at TAMC. The decommissioned ambulance will roll out of the same garage bay it was based in when in service, and make its debut in the presence of many of the artists involved in its makeover and repurposing.
Wintergreen Arts Center, based in Presque Isle, and TAMC announced in mid-April they would partner to develop an on-location art studio in numerous County communities throughout the summer. For the better part of the last two months, the vehicle has undergone a significant artistic transformation.
The partnership’s christening art project involved the vehicle itself as a unique three-dimensional canvas. Heather Harvell, a Presque Isle artist and Wintergreen instructor, took the lead. The process began with a background of Harvell’s design. The second stage involved art students ranging in age from toddlers to teenagers adding patterns, flora and fauna to the mural. Finally, Harvell recruited professional artists to do the detail work.
The community was also engaged in another aspect of the vehicle transformation. Wintergreen Arts Center launched a design contest to develop two logos that will be prominently displayed in the area directly above the vehicle’s cab. The winners of the contest, Sydney Lavigne and Amalla Peterson, will unveil their designs as part of Thursday’s event.
Immediately following the brief ceremony and roll out of the WOW/TAMC Mobile at TAMC, the vehicle will make its downtown debut with a parade that will include Presque Isle police and fire vehicles, Crown Ambulance, and the Presque Isle Historical Society’s Molly the Trolley. The motorcade will proceed from Gould Memorial Hospital, down Academy Street, onto State Street, ending at Riverside Park. Children attending the unveiling event at TAMC will be invited to ride on the trolley to the park.
At Riverside Park, Wintergreen volunteers will host an open art event. The festivities, for children of all ages, will include the opportunity for kids to color, write or draw on a special part of the wagon painted with chalkboard paint. There will also be face painting and fun with bubbles. Attendees will have the opportunity to make upcycled flowers and pinwheels to mark the occasion and the start of summer. The event is free to participants; however, donations to support Wintergreen will be accepted.
