LIHU‘E — They almost got rained out, but Island School students were able to wait out the weather and get their mural hung on the construction wall at the site of the Lihu‘e McDonald’s on Kuhio Highway last week. The
LIHU‘E — They almost got rained out, but Island School students were able to wait out the weather and get their mural hung on the construction wall at the site of the Lihu‘e McDonald’s on Kuhio Highway last week.
The 50 students, in grades six through 12, are out on Thanksgiving break this week, and got their Hanalei Bay mural hung on Friday, said Penny Nichols, Island School art instructor.
The students “had fun collaborating on the McDonald’s mural, from its concept to its installation,” Nichols said.
“I know they felt proud when they saw the final product,” said Nichols.
“Working on such a large scale (eight feet by 36 feet) was a new experience for the kids. It required gallons of paint, some very big brushes and a lot of cooperation and compromise,” she said.
“It was a lesson in color mixing, since all the colors were made from red, blue, yellow and white.”
The students are Mahina Alexander, Chad Andrade, Alex Barry, Braden Beck, Leila Breen, Kiana Baptiste, Kaimana Carney, Austin Cook, Aidan Dungan, Ryan Feather, Sariah Fitzgerald-Beeby, Geneveive Foster, Stephen Foster, Moriela Geiger-Wright, Dani Grainger, Madison Gregor, Quinn Hannah-White, Michael Hicks, Chan Hsu, Sarah James, Harley Kaeo, Noa Kaye, Kawena Kawaihalau, Tyler Keith, Michael Kilcoyne, Kekoa Lawhead, Nicholas Leggett, Noah Leggett, Kai Lydgate, Sara Loreti, Damian Lynch, Tessa Mason, Michael McEvoy, Eva Michetti, Lily Mindel, Molly Mindel, James Papa, Ally Pascual, Marcus Punua, Tianee Reis, Alexandria Russell, Ryland Santos, Tyler Schump, Samuel Skarajunsky, Sam Skinner, Natalia Smith, Benjamin Steuri, Austin Taylor, Christy Williams and Kellan Wortmann.
The mural was done in two parts, most of it painted at the Puhi school campus and then assembled at the Lihu‘e McDonald’s.
McDonald’s provided the materials and refreshments, and contributed $1,000 to the school for their efforts.
“This is a great opportunity for the students to show their talents off to their community, and we are delighted to let them use our wall to do so,” said Melanie Okazaki, marketing manager of McDonald’s Restaurants of Hawai‘i and a former Kaua‘i resident.
McDonald’s of Lihu‘e is temporarily closed and undergoing a complete rebuild to gain a contemporary new look and design of both the interior and exterior, according to a McDonald’s press release.
It is scheduled to reopen next spring.
McDonald’s Restaurants of Hawai‘i has 84 restaurants and more than 4,000 employees in Hawai‘i, Guam and Saipan, the release states.
The company spends approximately $240 million annually in Hawai‘i, the economic impact of which creates nearly 12,500 jobs in the community, the release states.
More than 80 percent of McDonald’s 13,700 U.S. restaurants are independently owned and operated by local franchisees, and around 10,000 of those are Wi Fi hot spots, according to the release.
For more information on McDonald’s, visit www.mcdonalds.com.
