The Wheaton Arts community will dedicate its newest mural, “Wheaton Lives,” in a ceremony at 4 p.m. on Sunday on the side of the building housing Elbe’s Beer and Wine store.
Elbe’s Beer and Wine, located at 2522 University Blvd. West, will close at 4 p.m. for the celebration, which will take place in the parking lot. A tented area will provide shade, and organizers will serve refreshments.
The dedication will include the unveiling of a plaque and remarks from the artist Bridget Cimino, the property owners, and representatives from the Wheaton Arts Parade. The organizers expect elected officials and sponsors to attend. Representatives from the Maryland State Arts Council and the Wheaton Arts Walls Foundation will also be present.
William and Miriam Bobrow founded Elbe’s Beer and Wine as a neighborhood market in 1951. William Bobrow, a U.S. Army veteran who served in World War II near the Elbe River, named the store after the river. Their sons, Andy and Jeff, now run the store.
About the Mural
MCM talked with artist Bridget Cimino about the design of the mural in this video:
The Wheaton Arts Parade has added the mural to Wheaton’s Arts and Entertainment District and features it online.
Bridget Cimino, a mural artist from Baltimore, designed the mural to move through time from the past to the future. It starts with a depiction of a Native American village and progresses through scenes of European settlers farming, mid-20th-century local commerce, and the founding of Elbe’s as a grocery store. The mural also features a woman cooking pupusas, representing Wheaton’s diverse population, and ends with a modern-day scene of youth at play.
Work on the mural began on May 9 and was completed on June 12. Major funding for the project came from the Maryland State Arts Council and Leonard Greenberg’s Wheaton Arts Walls Foundation. The Wheaton Arts Parade managed the project pro bono.
