A&E

McComb/Veazey gets a new paint job

by Wynce Nolley

The McComb and Veazey neighborhoods will be holding their own veritable renaissance this weekend when residents partner with several of Lafayette's non-profits for the Paint McComb/Veazey Wonderful Festival featuring the first painting of several planned community murals.

Residents of the McComb / Veazey neighborhoods are organizing a neighborhood revitalization project called Paint McComb/Veazey Wonderful beginning this Saturday, Nov. 24, with the first in a series of mural paintings at street intersections in the neighborhood. Saturday's mural will be painted at the intersection of 12th and South Magnolia Streets from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Several vendors will also be present selling merchandise including pies, candy, CDs, books, jewelry and other wares.

"This festival will re-ignite and revive healthy resident/business relationships and lay to rest the negative reputation attached to the MCV Neighborhood," says the event's organizer and McComb/Veazey Neighborhood Coterie member Mittie Jo Edmond in a release about the event.

Other activities include a McComb/Veazey Block Party featuring live entertainment with a DJ, poetry readings, motivational speakers along with live music from gospel, hip-hop and zydeco artists. Members of the Lafayette City-Parish Council will also be on-hand to re-dedicate the renewed intersection.

The revitalization project is made possible through an alliance among the McComb and Veazey residents, the McComb/Veazey Neighborhood Coterie, Lafayette Habitat for Humanity, Rebuilding Together Acadiana and the LCG Dept. of Community Development. The cooperative also have other neighborhood improvements planned for the area including the constructing of several new homes, the renovation of many of the existing owner-occupied homes as well as street clean-up and general beautification.

The Paint McComb/Veazey Wonderful Festival starts this Saturday with the mural painting from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. followed by the Block Party from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the intersection of 12th and South Magnolia Streets.