Adam Prudhomme
Beaver Staff
Move over Hollywood.
Greater Napanee unveiled its own version of the famous landmark sign last week as bright white wooden letters about five feet high were installed in Lions Park.
The sign was the brainchild of Kathy Medd, a member of the Greater Napanee Arts and Culture Committee, who enlisted the help of Lennox and Addington Community Living for the construction process.
“In my travels I have seen signs in a number of communities, these giant signs are usually in urban centres like the one in Kingston,” said Medd. “My husband and I were travelling a couple of years ago out of country and the airport of the city we were at had one of these signs and we thought ‘wow, is that ever cool’. It was on my mind for awhile.”
She then brought the idea to the Arts and Cultural Committee who supported the idea. From there a sign that just read “Napanee,” with a much smaller “Greater” placed on top of one of the letters was made. It was placed at some of the town’s annual festivals such as the Big Bright Light Show launch and Winter Chill.
Soon the word “Greater” was created to be the same size as the rest of the sign and last Thursday it was officially installed in Lions Park.
Under the direction of Larry Parks, the wood working crew at Community Living crafted the letters.
“They get thrilled by being part of these types of projects,” said Lennox and Addington Community Living executive director Barb Fabius. “They know when they look at it they can say ‘I was part of that. I helped build that.’ There’s a sense of pride and a sense of belonging in the community.”
The project also fit in nicely with Community Living’s ongoing theme of celebrating 50 years of being in the community. The sign is just another example of how their members have played a role in helping to shape the town.
Once completed, it was the Town of Greater Napanee staff who affixed the sign to the concrete wall of Lions Park, where it will stay for the foreseeable future. Medd hopes it will encourage people to visit the park and use the sign as a backdrop for photos.
“It’s nice to see that it now has a permanent home,” said Medd. “It’s all spelled out in large letters and just fits perfectly on that wall at Lions Park. I’m really happy with how things came together and there’s no way it could have been done without the support of an organization like Community Living, Barb Fabius and her team and also the town staff.”
Napanee’s Lions Park is located at the corner of Centre Street and Water Street East.