This page was exported from Bancroft this Week [ https://www.bancroftthisweek.com ] Export date:Wed Sep 2 17:26:49 2026 / +0000 GMT ___________________________________________________ Title: Riddle Me This bringsattention to mural --------------------------------------------------- By Michael Riley, Local Journalism Initiative reporter The Riddle Me This summer event is upon us here in Bancroft! From Aug. 15 to Oct. 3, A Place for the Arts and theMuse Gallery and Café are sponsoring an exciting event, inviting the public, residents and visitors to our area to comeand take a closer look at the “Embrace” mural on the west side of the Whitfield building which houses APFTA and theMuse. The mural welcomes everyone who comes into town on Hwy. 62 and Hwy. 28, and its vibrant colours and abstractthem of nature “warm the heart of our community,” according to Gayle Crosmaz, marketing and communications withAPFTA. Crosmaz comments to The Bancroft Times about this event running through the fall.The 44-foot-long mural, called “Embrace” is on the west side of the Whitfield building at 23 Bridge Street, and themural renewal was requested by the building's owner Burke Chamberlin. It was painted by artists ranging in age fromfive years old to 80 years old, and overlaid two giant dragonflies and a firefly as a basis for the collage design, with somesections of the original mural as the background that weren't too badly damaged, as they develop segments of the designwith the new art. Algonquin First Nations artists to created representations of Algonquin teachings in art form, from theirWawatesi (firefly in Algonquin) Cultural Discovery Project along the river's edge. The giant firefly in the middle of themural was reserved for First Nations' teaching and history. Some sections of Roosman's original mural were kept as thebackground as they were still viable, and the new sections were placed over top of them to create a new hybrid artwork.Coe Hill based Roosman was a lithographer, designer of books, stage sets and murals, illustrator and painter, who was arenowned and award-winning freelance artist for over 25 years. The original mural, unveiled 12 years ago, depicted thehistory of Bancroft and area since the arrival of the settlers but had become sun damaged in recent years and sections ofit needed to be replaced. Those that were still salvageable were treated with varnish to preserve for posterity along withthe newly painted sections. Sadly, Roosman passed way on Jan. 15, 2026, but according to Debbie Christie, director withAPFTA, he had earlier given his blessing for the project.The following artists lent their considerable talents to revitalizing the mural; Jenn Aboui, Ivy Acorn, Jewell Allington,Barbara Allport, Angela Arnott-Bates, R. Bendall, Chas Burke, Hope Capstick, Nic Capstick, Sky Capstick, StormCapstick, Koda Carrierre, Marisol Carillo, John Christie, Luann Coghlan, Gayle Crosmaz, Jenn Dalaney, Alice Doutre,Rebecca Doutre, Renee Fellbaum, Abby Fry, A. Fuller, Kelsey Fuller, Jane Hall, Meryl Hall, Kathy Haycock, KateHebdon, Chris Houston, Bill Kafka, Katie Kafka, David Kay, Beverly Lewis, Cortney Lynn, Courtney Maclellan,Kathyern Maclellan, Finnan McCabe, Ketha Newman, Elizabeth Raymond, Reid Raymond, Rory Raymond, I. Robinson,Manuela Schmidlechner, Jackie Share, Jenna Shewen, Venessa Sorrell, Sally Svenningson, Linda Symons, Amelia Taylor,Robin Tinney, Erica Tripp, Lynne Vegter, Jane Venner, Leilah Ward and Donna Wiebe. The mural was sponsored byAPFTA, Burke Chamberlin, the Algonquin Arts Council, Wisdom Drums International, It Stix Signs and Graphics, BMRLumber, the Muse Gallery and Café, and Maynooth Station Lodge.Crosmaz says that the event features a set of riddles about the imagery depicted in the mural, both in Roosman's originalpainting and the newer facets of the work. She said that they encourage folks to look more closely at the details of themural paintings and the artists who painted them.“The riddle questions can be answered by looking at the mural itself, the mural booklet we published, which features theartists and their work. A copy of the booklet can be viewed or obtained at [APFTA] to assist you with your discoveries.You may know several of the artists and sponsors involved in this community project. Now honor their creations byparticipating in their artistic world. At the end of each Saturday listed, we will select the submission that has the mostcorrect answers. They will be awarded with a gift coupon from the A Place for the Arts and the Muse Gallery & Café,”she says.Crosmaz says that the last submission deadline is Oct. 3 at noon, and that the announcement will be made at the CulturalDays event at Millennium Park by Debbie Christie. She says that for the winning submission for each of the eightSaturdays that the event runs, the prizes are as follows; a $20 gift certificate toward the next purchase of an original pieceof art at APFTA, a 10 per cent off coupon from the Muse Café for the winning submission for that Saturday for each ofthe eight Saturdays that the event runs, and a grand prize gift basket which will be awarded at the end of the summer onOct. 3. The grand prize basket courtesy of Crosmaz and Wisdom Drums International, will consist of a Kettle Drumworth $250, a gift certificate for $40 from the Muse Café and Gallery and Liz Raymond, a stain glass pinwheel worth$20 from Debbie Christie at APFTA, a painting from APFTA artist Luann Coghlan worth $75, a painting and a paintedornament from APFTA artist Kelsey Fuller worth $155, and knitted hats and cowl from APFTA artist Leilah Ward.According to Crosmaz, more donations are in the works, and that the basket is not included. She says if there is morethan one submission with the correct number of answers, they'll gather the winning submissions for a random draw toselect the final winner of the day and then those winning names will be re-entered for the end of the season grand prizedraw.Crosmaz told The Bancroft Times said she'll be on hand at the gallery every Saturday during the event, despite fallingand breaking her hip recently, although she says she is slowly getting around again.“My hope for this event is to invite the public come closer to view the artwork on the mural, and read the names on thehonour plaque. We would like the stories and faces of the artists of all ages to been noted and to the watch the amazinglove filled documentary of the project as it was created. You saw the film and seen how everyone responded with suchlove. With regard to how the mural got started; I am fairly new to the community of Bancroft and wondered how I couldreach out and connect with the community. I had no plan or idea until I was asked to help find a way to restore Arni Rosman's mural. I had created a community mural in Warkworth back in 1998 and it still stands today as a testament ofcommunity love. I knew this could work here as well. And wow, what a response we received from the community andits artists,” she says. “Blessings and thank you all!” --------------------------------------------------- Images: --------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------- Post date: 2026-09-02 11:53:40 Post date GMT: 2026-09-02 15:53:40 Post modified date: 2026-09-02 11:53:43 Post modified date GMT: 2026-09-02 15:53:43 ____________________________________________________________________________________________ Export of Post and Page as text file has been powered by [ Universal Post Manager ] plugin from www.gconverters.co