By Sarah Nigbor

ELLSWORTH – Ellsworth E3 Community Development Corporation and the E-Town Arts Committee are planning a unique, first of its kind fundraiser that requires sunscreen and a sense of adventure: Tubing down the Rush River!

Tubing for the Arts is set for 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturday, July 31 at Vino in the Valley (W3826 450th Ave., Maiden Rock). Tubers will meet at Vino and be shuttled up to the drop off point for a fun adventure down the Rush back to Vino, according to event organizer Kayleen Jakes.

A meal, rawes and music will also be offered – and if tubing just isn’t your thing, you can forgo that part of the fundraiser and enjoy the rest. Free rock painting and pho – to opportunities from DeVoe Photography will round out the day. The committee is also looking for more Plein Air artists to create during the event.

Funds raised from the event will go toward the Ellsworth Mural Walk.

“We currently have seven buildings that we have per – mission to apply murals,” Jakes said. “We are so excited to get this project started and we need your help.” Ellsworth High School graduate Dawson Peters, who received a grant through the Empower Ellsworth Pro –

gram, painted the first interactive mural in June on Broadway Street. Murals will also be painted on Brush Strokes/Country Fit, Com- fort by Design, Pierce County Meats garage, and the old meat market next to the Broadway parklet, to name a few. The mural will be interactive, allowing people to stand in front of it to become part of the scene.

“It is still in the works, but one of the things we will be doing at the tubing event is taking community input on what they would like to see on the murals,” Jakes said. “We do know we will have a historical mural, a futuristic mural and a natural beauty of Ellsworth mural, but what is on those murals will come from community input.” E3 represents the organization’s goal to “Envision, Empower and Engage” the Ellsworth community, to inspire residents to make it a better place. The group’s mission is to improve residents’ quality of life by generating, managing and allocating resources to meet the current and future needs of Ellsworth.

The nonprofit, an official 501 (c)(3), is a volunteer-based organization that grew from the 2018 Design Ellsworth initiative.

To learn more about the event or to sign up as a Plein Air artists, contact Jakes at [email protected] com or 715-204-9491. To register for the event, go to ellsworthe3.square.site/product/tubing-for-the-arts/16

Recent Ellsworth High School graduate Dawson Peters painted the first interactive mural in Ellsworth’s East End in June.

Photo courtesy of Kayleen Jakes