Following Oldsmar’s annual Veterans Day ceremony in the morning, the city will continue to honor veterans by unveiling its new mural and hosting a special concert at R.E. Olds Park.
Oldsmar officials take pride in paying special attention to America’s veterans.
From being designated a Purple Heart Community and showcasing the Remembering Florida’s Fallen exhibit, to hosting emotional Veterans Day, Memorial Day and Gold Star Mother and Families Day ceremonies every year, Oldsmar has always gone above and beyond what many other communities do in terms of honoring our military heroes.
This year, Oldsmar is going all-out for Veterans Day, as the annual morning ceremony at Veterans Memorial Park will be followed by the unveiling of the city’s first public art project, plus a special concert at R.E. Olds Park later in the evening.
“Our Veterans Day ceremony is Friday, November 11 at 11 a.m. at Veterans Memorial Park,” Mayor Doug Bevis said during the City Council meeting on Tuesday night. “I’m looking forward to honoring our veterans and seeing the new names on the veterans wall unveiled. If you’ve never been to that park, you need to stop by.”
“Also, the mural celebration that’s been talked about is the same day, Friday, November 11 at 5:30…at the R.E. Olds Park amphitheater, and also we have the same night the Veterans Day celebration free concert with the Superstars.”
While the morning memorial ceremony is sure to be stirring, and the concert by the always-entertaining Superstars will certainly be lively, it’s the long-awaited unveiling of Oldsmar’s first mural by St. Pete artist Lakeema Matthew that promises to be the highlight of the day.
Matthew, a former USF art student who was awarded the grant money for the project back in January, has been waiting for months to reveal her colorful work, which features images of the late Oldsmar veteran Frank Gross and city founder Ransom E. Olds, after a number of setbacks forced the delay of the reveal.
On Tuesday night, the 26-year-old said she was overwhelmed by the opportunity to create the first public art project in Oldsmar’s 100-year history.
“I just want to say thanks you guys for giving me the opportunity to be part of the history of Oldsmar,” she told the council.
“I’m just overwhelmed. Words can’t describe how I feel about being part of this.”
After Matthew spoke, former City Council member Linda Foley Norris, who as longtime proponent of public art in Oldsmar helped get the project off the ground, informed the audience that although the focus of one half of the mural is centered on Army Cpl. Gross, who was killed in action in Afghanistan in July 2011, it’s meant to honor and represent all veterans.
“I also need to point out that this mural, the veterans mural, is not just about Frankie,” Norris said of Gross, who was killed in action in Afghanistan in July 2011.”This mural is about all veterans.
“The veterans wall is on it, the veterans memorial statue is on it, the gazebo is on it. So even though she used Frankie’s image, and we used Frankie’s artwork…this mural honors all veterans. All veterans.”
For more information on Oldsmar’s 2016 Veterans Day Ceremonies, visit this section of the city’s website.
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- Oldsmar ceremony honors Florida’s fallen soldiers, families
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