I love, love, love this. I love all the additional art the commission has been doing for the last 18 months. I’m proud of our community for supporting arts and culture, which includes not only art but also culture.”

Mayor Fasbender

Roadside Park
510 11th St. W
Hastings, MN 55033
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The Hastings Arts and Culture Commission has been busy lately with the completion of the ‘Paint by Numbers’ community project at the Tennis/Pickleball Courts at Roadside Park and a request for local artists to submit proposals for a mural at the Civic Arena.
Civic Arena Proposal
The Hastings Arts and Culture Commission seeks Midwest artists to design and create an engaging, dynamic mural that welcomes visitors to Hastings and celebrates the city and its hockey history. The mural will occupy the southwest wall of the Hastings Civic Arena, facing Hwy 61, and serve as a visual landmark as the city prepares for Hockey Day Minnesota in 2026. The application process includes an artist statement, project proposal, and more. Entries are due by September 1, 2024.
The specifications for the Civic Arena proposal state that the poured concrete wall is approximately 200 feet long and 24 feet tall. Due to the makeup of the existing wall, the artwork will need to be created on a different surface that will then be attached to the wall. The mural does not need to cover the entire wall.
Roadside Courts
The Roadside Park Courts have undergone many changes this past year, including a new playing surface, new fences, a new configuration with eight dedicated pickleball courts, a black windscreen to help with the wind and noise from both traffic and play, a new portable restroom enclosure, and most recently, a newly decorated power box.
The newly decorated power box was the centerpiece of the Arts and Culture Commission’s dedication ceremony last week. The artist, Hastings’ resident Jessie Eckroad, gave the project a unique twist.
“When I was looking at this utility box, I thought, ‘Man, I have to showcase the physical beauty of nature in Hastings.’ So, we did a different season for each panel and a different animal group on each panel. All of the animals and plants depicted are native to the area,” she explained. “The paint-by-numbers idea was something I basically babbled out loud at a creative convergence meeting, and nobody said I was crazy, so that's what we went with. I think painting by numbers is a great way for people to access art, even if they don't fancy themselves as super talented. I believe art is for everyone; it's just a matter of choosing a project that people feel they can engage with. That was the whole goal of doing it this way.”
Eckroad did all the preparatory work on the otherwise mundane green utility box, sanding and priming it to ensure the longevity of the art with exterior-grade house paint.
“On an outdoor project like this, as the artist and organizer, I made sure we used weatherproof procedures. I primed the metal underneath to ensure everything sticks well. All the paint used is exterior-grade outdoor house paint—essentially the same as what you would use on your home's siding, but in more colors. The paint has UV protection, so it won’t fade and look shabby over time. Last but not least, I will apply a graffiti-proof topcoat to seal everything in. I can’t imagine anyone would want to deface it, but just in case, we’ll have that topcoat to allow for easy cleaning. And of course, as the artist, I will handle any necessary touch-ups for as long as I live in Hastings, ensuring it remains beautiful for years, so those who participated in the project can proudly show it to their friends and family,” Eckroad explained.
But why paint a utility box in a park? Arts and Culture Commission Chair Barb Hollenbeck explained how this idea came to fruition in a very short time.
“Chris Jenkins approached the Arts and Culture Commission with the idea of hiring an artist to paint the very unsightly electrical box at the tennis/pickleball courts, with the goal that the project be completed as soon as possible. I thought, ‘Sure, we can do that; it’s a fun idea’,” she explained.
Knowing the project had to happen quickly, Hollenbeck already had an artist in mind: Jessie Eckroad.
“I knew Jessie from Carpenter Nature Center; she is very talented and a great person to work with. She is an environmental science educator, and much of her art is nature-based, so I wanted to see what she could do in this park. She stepped back from a full-time career at Carpenter Nature Center to focus on her career as an artist, and I think it's great for us as a commission and as a city to enhance the career opportunities for artists in our community so they can earn a living wage through their art. That was one more reason I wanted to hire Jessie—to promote her economic development as an artist,” Hollenbeck explained.
The newly formed commission would normally issue a request for artists to submit quotes for the project, but they quickly agreed that Eckroad was the right choice, so they proceeded with her.
The best part of the project was discovered during the unveiling. Mayor Mary Fasbender was in attendance and, when she was checking out the project, pointed out that one of the sides featured a raccoon. For those who are not aware, the raccoon used to be the Raiders' mascot before the pirate. The raccoon was also positioned perfectly to be seen when you look at Todd Field, so the question had to be asked: Was it intentional or sheer dumb luck?
“It was dumb luck, absolutely,” said Eckroad as everyone, including herself, laughed. “I guess the raccoon was meant to be.”
This led to a discussion about how perfectly it turned out, with the raccoon serving as a quintessential nod to Raider sports history and being on the proper side to highlight that.
“I love, love, love this. I love all the additional art the commission has been doing for the last 18 months. I’m proud of our community for supporting arts and culture, which includes not only art but also culture. I love seeing the visual impact of art, and knowing that 70 or more little hands helped create this, along with our artist Jessie, makes my heart happy,” Mayor Fasbender said.
The 70 little hands Mayor Fasbender referenced were the final piece of the puzzle. As mentioned earlier, Eckroad did all the prep work on the surface, then meticulously laid out the various lines with corresponding paint numbers in preparation for a full day of community painting. Once the lines were laid out, she organized a schedule for community members to paint their own sections of the four-sided mural. People of all ages and artistic skills joined the fun, painting their own sections with Eckroad’s guidance. Overall, the project cost around $1,300 and involved more than 50 hours of work plus materials.