WASHINGTON, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV)– Residents in Washington may have noticed some new posters around the downtown area.
The flyers mark the upcoming solar eclipse– and were designed by students at Washington High School.
It was part of a project in Jenilee Counsil’s graphic design class– and she said when local officials approached her, she knew it was a good opportunity for her class.
“The kids love to be involved in things in the community,” she said. “The first thing we did was talk about what would people want to see when they come through, what’s something that would be eye-catching, what information would need to be on there. It was just an open conversation that we had.”
The city has been ramping up preparations for the leadup to the big day. Washington Mayor David Rhoads said a local organization, Discover Downtown Washington, has been leading these efforts. There will be a three-day festival leading up to when it goes dark.
“We don’t know exactly what to expect,” he said. “We want people to enjoy the festivities downtown and enjoy themselves, but my main goal is to keep the roads open for traffic, for EMS, for first responders.”
Rhoads said he was excited to see the community– particularly the high school students– embrace this opportunity.
“They were very excited about this. They did a great job, they had some great ideas,” he said. “It’s always good to bring the high school and the youth into stuff like this and have a little contest, and make them feel like they are a part of this event.”
For Counsil, this project was a chance to show students what life is like for artists. She said she enjoyed taking them step-by-step through the process of working with a partner, receiving feedback and ultimately seeing their work on display downtown.
“It’s a prideful moment,” Counsil said. “It’s nice to see students that you know have worked really hard on something, and to see it come to life, it’s a really great moment to share with students.”
Rhoads said some events were still being finalized for the weekend, but he’s looking forward to sharing this moment with other residents. He added the Washington Commons project wouldn’t be completed– but a portion of it would be available.
And these final few weeks will allow them to get everything into place ahead of the event.
“We’ve heard in the past what other people have done, like Kentucky back a few years ago, so we’re preparing for this and we really don’t know,” he said. “It’s just a work in progress, we’re going to add to it as it gets closer, we’re going to have more information out there for everybody.”
