(All photos by Tomás Diniz Santos)
ORLANDO | Foxtail Coffee Co., collaborating with onePULSE Foundation, unveiled a new colorful mural at the coffee chain’s SoDo Drive-Thru location in Orlando July 8.
The colorful mural, which is a tribute to the National Pulse Memorial & Museum and all those who were affected by the tragedy at Pulse, can be seen as you first walk into Foxtail Coffee above the front counter and stretching nearly the length of the room. The mural is painted using 49 different colors to honor the 49 lives lost during the Pulse tragedy and is inscribed with the words LOVE, HOPE, STRENGTH, ACCEPTANCE, COURAGE and UNITY.
“I think it’s knowledge. I think it’s showing acceptance,” says Rosie Tchekmeian, one of the two artists behind the creation of the mural. “I think it’s just highlighting that there is good that can come out of something so tragic and you know, that we’re trying to celebrate their lives and then celebrate the future of being more accepting and inclusive.”
After completing the mural design, with the help of Jason Mohn, Tchekmeian painted the mural with fellow artist Sarah Gordon, working 30-40 hours a week for five weeks, according to Tchekmeian.
Earl Crittenden, board chairman of the onePULSE Foundation, says the new mural is an “exciting” step forward for the community, especially coming off the heels of the new bill, H.R. 49, signed into law by President Joe Biden that designates the Pulse nightclub as a National Memorial.
“I think people will see this mural and probably learn a lot,” Crittenden says. “Not everyone in the community or visitors to Orlando know as much as we all know that live here about what the symbols mean. It’s pretty powerful.”
Foxtail Coffee has also launched a new way to donate to onePULSE and help raise funds for the national memorial and museum. The store will now provide customers the option to round up their purchase to the nearest dollar as a donation for the foundation. You will also be able to round up your purchase on the Foxtail app as well.
Iain Yeakle, co-founder of Foxtail Coffee Co., thanked the onePULSE Foundation for their new partnership and talked about the new mural in a speech he gave at the unveiling of the mural.
“We’re excited today to be revealing our new mural,” he said to the crowd. “Love, hope, strength, acceptance, courage and unity are all things that we stand for, firmly believe in and stand by.”
The mural is inside the Foxtail Coffee Co. at the SoDo Drive-Thru store, located at 2453 S. Orange Ave. in Orlando. For more information, visit their website at FoxtailCoffee.com.
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