COURTLAND, Ala. — Courtland welcomed Alabama's first internationally sanctioned hopscotch course this week.
The woman behind the mural is Sonya Clemons also known as "Artlady". Clemons, a Jackson County muralist, was commissioned by the Singing River Trail (SRT) to hand paint the usable public art hopscotch court on the square of Historic Downtown Courtland. The court is now open to the public.
In addition to being sanctioned by the International Society of Hopscotch, the Society has commended Singing River Trail for using this court to build community and deemed SRT official members of the Society.
When asked why this commission was important for SRT, Dr. John Kvach, Executive Director of the Singing River Trail said it is something that will bring the community together.
“When Mayor Peebles called, we had to help because our mission is to connect North Alabama’s people and communities to a common cause," Dr. Kvach said, "that says stop and visit, have lunch, take a walk, enjoy the history, and now you can even take a hop, a skip, and a jump in Courtland!”
The vision for a hopscotch court was born after Courtland Mayor Linda Peebles saw a YouTube video highlighting how people of all ages and abilities enjoy and use a hand-drawn court in Europe.
Mayor Peebles said that the Singing River Trail was the perfect partner to complete her vision.
“I knew that the Singing River Trail would work with us to create a unique and fun reason to visit Courtland,” said Peebles.
As part of the SRT’s North Alabama Cultural Exchange Program, “Artlady” Sony Clemons created the artistic elements of the project by designing and hand-painting the court.
Clemons remarked that the goal of using this court is to build community.
“SRT, like art in general brings people together, plus, who doesn’t love hopscotch,” said Clemons.