Sandy Hook Organization for Prosperity (SHOP) recently welcomed residents of all ages to the Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire & Rescue main station, when three dozen panels of the inaugural Village Mural Project were painted.

The work on the mural had been postponed by two weeks, after rain during SHOP’s signature autumn event meant outdoor painting was not feasible. Rockin’ the Hook went on with most other offerings on September 26. Less than 24 hours after the music and food event concluded, organizers had announced the updated plans for the Village Mural Project.

Formally launched in June, the project invited Sandy Hook artists to submit designs for the first mural to be installed in the Sandy Hook business district. While the artist pool will be widened in the future, Katelynn Clark wanted the first mural to feature a design by a resident of Sandy Hook.

Clark, a resident of Sandy Hook and SHOP member, is spearheading the project, which was inspired by The Ocean Beach Community Mural Project on the West Coast. Since 1999, community murals that celebrate the essence of the seaside town have been created. At least two dozen colorful and unique murals now cover local businesses within a few blocks of San Diego, Calif.

Clark participated in at least one of the mural creations while living in California. She can still go back and see her square, she told The Newtown Bee in early July.

Clark is hoping Village Mural Project participants will have the same joy while creating the Sandy Hook murals, as well as when they return to see them in the future.

“It’s such a great way to bring the community together. They’ve been doing this for years, and each mural comes together cohesively,” she also shared.

The project is both a community art and fundraising initiative created to bring residents together through creativity while supporting SHOP’s Bridge the Hook initiative.

The 2026 Village Mural design was created by local artist Morgan Sclafani. The illustration includes the former pedestrian bridge SHOP is fundraising to replace, the business district’s red sidewalks, a table set for a meal, a guitar, the Sandy Hook Center Christmas tree, and other local highlights.

Ahead of Rockin’ the Hook, Sclafani’s design had been transformed into a large-scale mural that was then divided into 48 individual one-square-foot sections.

Work resumed last Sunday morning, when SHOP welcomed “a constant flow of artists” ready to purchase and then paint a square, Clark shared via e-mail.

This time plans included a fully indoor option in the event of rain, which was again the case during the five-hour event on October 11. Tables and chairs were waiting for guests when they entered one of the bays of the firehouse, where everything took place under cover of roof as showers and then steady rains arrived outside.

Participants reportedly took their time when selecting the squares they chose to paint.

“People were really thoughtful about the square they chose and how it aligned to them personally,” Clark said. “They maybe wanted to do the shamrock or a pumpkin to commemorate someone’s birthday month, or chose a square with a certain letter in their name.”

Of the 48 available squares, 35 were painted on Sunday. Some were worked on by an entire family, each taking turns, while others were handled by individuals, Clark said. Some artists were as young as 3 years old, she also noted.

Sclafani was also at the firehouse on Sunday, giving participants an opportunity to meet the artist behind the original design. Clark said the artist worked with many participants.

“Morgan bridged the gap for novice artists and helped ease their painting experience. She was wonderful and everyone enjoyed meeting her,” Clark said.

Sandy Hook School art teacher Kim Hossler was also invited to participate.

“She was invited to give some painting advice or coach anyone needing some artistic support,” Clark said. Hossler’s attendance was also a nice reunion for Sclafani and at least one other artist in attendance, both of whom were former students of the art educator, Clark said.

A large frame also featured the three additional mural contenders for this year’s inaugural installation. Free face painting for children was offered by Newtown High School varsity cheerleaders, and SHOP Sandy Hook Village merchandise was available for purchase.

Next Steps

There are 13 squares that still need to be painted for the mural. Clark said SHOP will hold a closed event to finish those sections.

The full mural will then need to be protected with a few coats of clear coat poly before being framed and installed at Heritage Park.

“We are hoping to get the mural in before the holiday season so our community can enjoy it at events like Adopt-A-Lamp Post and the tree lighting,” Clark said.

A second mural grid was also prepped for Sunday in the event the Sclafani mural was finished and additional help and time were still available. Clark and other members of SHOP had liked one particular element of a second mural design so much, they decided to turn that into a smaller work of art.

Designed by a Reed School student, the second mural segment features hands holding the letters “Sandy Hook Village.”

Clark said while the smaller mural wasn’t worked on last weekend, there are plans to host a small Paint & Sip event in the coming months to finish work on that design. While SHOP is unsure where it will live permanently, Clark said she and the others are committed to making sure that work will find a home or use.

SHOP Treasurer Sharon Doherty said Clark has done a fabulous job with the mural project.

“She presented this idea to SHOP, and we gave her our full support and helped her execute it,” Doherty also said via e-mail this week. “The mural represents Sandy Hook Village, and all the different events that SHOP hosts,” she added.

The painting of the mural has been sponsored by “all local small businesses,” Clark pointed out: Iron Path Wealth Management, PJ's Laundromat, Value Waste Services, LRM Inc, The Connecticut Tree Doctor, House of Colour-Newtown, Katalyst Social Co, Newtown Hardware, and East Haven & Ridgefield Building Supply.

All proceeds from the mural project support SHOP Sandy Hook Village’s initiative to “Bridge the Hook” and replace the Sandy Hook pedestrian footbridge. The footbridge has long been an important connection within Sandy Hook Village. Dismantled and missing from over the Pootatuck River since April 2024, SHOP has made its replacement one of its primary community fundraising goals.

Clark addressed that when speaking to The Bee this week. In thanking fellow SHOP members, family, and friends who “all took a chance, believed in my vision and came to support it,” Clark vowed, “We will replace that bridge. #BridgetheHook.”

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Managing Editor Shannon Hicks can be reached at shannon@thebee.com.