Painting a mural part of Arlington Heights' National Night Out
Max Svienty will complete his Eagle Scout project - a mural of Arlington Heights landmarks - at the village's annual attempt to bring community residents and local law enforcement together.
Arlington Heights' 15th celebration of National Night Out, a nationwide campaign meant to familiarize police and community members under positive circumstances, will be held from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 7, at North School Park.
Svienty, an incoming junior at Hersey High School, said he was looking for a final project to complete his Eagle Scout certification when Steve Neill, who is Svienty's scoutmaster, suggested he do a mural for Tuesday's event.
"It's also a way to give back," said Neill, Arlington Heights Park District superintendent of recreational facilities.
The mural will highlight Svienty's artistic abilities while promoting National Night Out, Neill said.
"I draw, I paint and I do photography," Svienty said. "Sometimes I do it in my free time at home, and I take art classes at Hersey. I knew that I kind of wanted to do something involved with painting and art because those are things that interest me."
The mural is incomplete - with local landmarks such as the Recreation Park building, the Memorial Park flame and the Arlington Heights Metra stop sketched out on three 4-foot by 4-foot plywood boards - waiting for community members to apply the paint Tuesday.
"For people to actually interact with art is really neat," Neill said. "I think people will really feel a connection to these scenes."
The bulk of Svienty's work was getting approval from administrators within the Boy Scouts organization and those in charge of planning Tuesday's event: the park district, police department and Crime Stoppers.
Priming the boards, sketching the scene and building three large easels to support the mural were also challenging aspects of the process, said Svienty, who looks forward to its completion on Tuesday.
"I hope that the people participate and enjoy it," Svienty said. "That would make me really happy if everyone else was happy."
After National Night Out, Svienty hopes to find places such as pools, parks or the library that will display his mural throughout August.