The mule located at The Terrace in Jasper is already decorated for the holiday season. The Alabama/Auburn decorated mule is pulling a sleigh. Photo by: Jennifer Cohron
“The holiday season has started, and Muletide Christmas is under way,” said Sharon Hogg, chair of Walker County Arts Alliance’s 50 Mule Team Public Art Project.
Hogg said that all sponsors are being asked to decorate their mules during the holidays. The best-dressed will become the December model in a 2013 mule calendar being developed by WCAA.
The public art project was organized earlier this year as a local attraction in conjunction with the stay of the Smithsonian Institution’s “Journey Stories” exhibit in Jasper.
The mules are now permanent fixtures throughout the area and have inspired a merchandising campaign that includes such items as T-shirts, glasses and fly swatters.
Other projects in the works besides the mule calendar are a Mule book, a poster and mule map website.
The WCAA recently received a grant from the Alabama Tourism Department that will help fund a final mule map printing for statewide distribution.
“The project has been so embraced by the community. We want to continue keeping them in the spotlight,” said WCAA president Melanie Poole.
A collage of mule photos and a biography of each artist are now on display in the lobby of Walker Baptist Medical Center.
Ballots will be available in the gift shop to vote for a favorite mule. Ballots will also be available on Facebook, at the WCAA office in downtown Jasper or can be e-mailed to Mules@ARTSofWalkerCounty.org.