City of Mural Community Festival returns this month

United We Go, the nonprofit organization behind Bay City’s growing reputation as a “Mural City,” will host the fourth annual City of Mural Community Festival from Aug. 11-16, bringing four new murals, community art activities and a daylong fundraiser to locations throughout the city.

The weeklong festival invites residents to watch artists create new public murals, contribute to the Community Friendship Wall and participate in a variety of events celebrating public art and community involvement.

“This year is about more than murals — it’s about bringing our community together to create something lasting,” organizers say in announcing the festival lineup. “We can’t do it without our community. Whether you volunteer, paint, attend an event, become a sponsor, or simply share our posts, every person makes a difference.”

Festival week highlights

During the six-day festival, artists will complete two new public murals at locations throughout Bay City while two additional murals will be added to the Community Friendship Wall, an ongoing collaborative public art project.

Community members are invited to help paint the Friendship Wall and participate in a Youth Mural Workshop on Thursday, Aug. 13.

Paint the Park

The festival’s signature event, Paint the Park, will take place from noon to 10 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 13, at Wenonah Park.

The community celebration serves as the festival’s primary fundraiser, with proceeds supporting construction of new mural walls for the 2027 festival season.

The event will feature:

• Vendors and food trucks
• Live music
• Community Friendship Wall painting
• Mural Project Showcase and the unveiling of future mural locations
• Youth Mural Workshop
• Paint & Sip fundraiser for adults 21 and older
• Cornhole tournament with cash prizes
• The 30 Collection Art Fundraiser
• Silent auction and 50/50 raffle
• Morning yoga and breathwork session

Opportunities to get involved

United We Go is seeking volunteers, vendors, sponsors and artists to participate in this year’s festival. Applications are also open for mural artists interested in creating artwork during the 2027 festival.

Registration opportunities include:

Donations supporting youth art programming and mural production can be made through PayPal at unitedwegoo@gmail.com or via Venmo at @unitedwego.

Additional information about the festival is available on the official Facebook event page.

About the festival

Hosted annually by United We Go, the City of Mural Community Festival celebrates the transformative power of public art by bringing together artists, residents, businesses and visitors to create murals that reflect Bay City’s history, culture and community.

Organizers say the festival is part of an ongoing effort to reclaim Bay City’s historic “Mural City” nickname while encouraging collaboration through public art. The completed murals become permanent additions to the city’s landscape, serving as visual reminders of community pride and creativity.