Poppies taking over Bob Hart Square and helping to fund money for community organizations

Locals passing by Bob Hart Square over the weekend stopped to thank and observe two Merced residents arranging painted poppy tiles on the concrete base of the flag poles.

Monika Modest, 61, and Ed Contreras, 56, installed tiles showing a mixture of red, orange and yellow poppies that were painted and glazed by local community groups and residents.

“I’ve been looking at this wall for a long time,” Modest said. “People are so happy there is something colorful and uplifting like this in the center of town.”

People driving or walking down Canal Street and Main Street pulled over to talk to them and ask how they could get involved, Modest said.

“It actually has been amazing,” Modest said. “We had so many people park somewhere or come over and tell us it looks very beautiful.”

By the end of the weekend, Modest and Contreras had about 300 poppies on the base, Modest said, and, by mid-May, the whole base will be decorated with the luminous flowers. They’re looking at adding in at least 500 more poppies to the base.

Anybody can help and glaze the poppies, Modest said. On Thursday from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., people can pay $5 to glaze a poppy at the MAH Epekel Gallery at 1733 Canal Street.

Each poppy takes between 30 minutes to half an hour to complete, Modest said, and she will be there to teach and assist people on how to glaze them.

By the end of the project, Modest expects to raise $6,000 that will be split between two local organizations – the Valley Crisis Center and the Merced County Rescue Mission’s program, Room at the Inn, which gives temporary shelter to homeless families and helps them acquire permanent housing.

“For me, to be able have people look at Merced in a different light is very important,” Modest said. “One of the reasons I chose the poppy is because it reminded me of Merced. They’re very delicate in terms of flowers and very resilient.”

She added: “I find people here to be persistent and willing to engage when it comes to a project like this.”

This story was originally published March 21, 2017 at 9:06 AM with the headline "Poppies taking over Bob Hart Square and helping to fund money for community organizations."