PETOSKEY — There are several exciting new additions coming to Petoskey this month.
First up, a long-awaited dog park is set to open on Friday, Aug. 21.
"They're still working," said Mayor John Murphy. "The cement has been poured for all of the paths. It's just a matter now of putting in a couple benches and water spigots."
The park is located in the Bear River Valley Recreation Area, about a quarter-mile from the public parking lot.
A dog park been a frequent request from residents over the years, and Murphy said he has heard "nothing but excitement and people wanting to know when they can start using it."
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New public art installations will also make their debut in the coming weeks.
The city's Art Commission has announced a ribbon cutting for the Wheelway Art Walk at 5 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 28. The art walk is described as "a series of vibrant new public murals along the Little Traverse Wheelway."
"They'll all be in one area," Murphy said. "That's against the retaining wall of the highway to Bayfront (Park), across from the softball field."
The project features 20 original 4-by-4-foot paintings. Murphy said applicants were required to either be a resident of Emmet or Charlevoix counties or have a connection to the area.
Murphy added that he was inspired by Chicago's Graceland Walls Gallery, found along the outside wall of the Graceland Cemetery, that he saw during a visit with his daughter.
"We would take walks and look at the stuff and I thought, 'This is a project for Petoskey,'" he said.
The city's Facebook page is tracking artists' progress on their murals through weekly updates. Residents can follow along at facebook.com/thecityofpetoskey.
At 4 p.m. on Aug. 28, the city will also unveil a new bench sculpture in Bayfront Park.
"That one is called the Friendship Bench," Murphy said. "It is on the shoreline with a walking path to it. It will feature a large bench that has a deer and a rabbit sitting there, one with binoculars and one with a book. It faces so that you can sit on it and if somebody takes your picture the Petoskey breakwall and, in several months, the sunset would be behind you."
In September, yet another sculpture will be installed in Sunset Park.
"They look like sails, five different colored sails that will be in the park itself as a group," Murphy said. "It's going to be a pretty cool one as well. We'll have cement at the bottom that makes it look like water movement."
Find out more about the city's Art Commission at petoskey.us.
— Contact Jillian Fellows at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Petoskey to welcome new dog park, public art installations