BIGGS, CA (MPG) - The main drag through the town of Biggs is incredibly charming but not all areas are aesthetically pleasing. That is why local business owner, Marci Shadd, has thrown out a line of inspiration to her community and is hoping to get a few bites.

The ambitious owner of the Hotel Colonia has spent the last 5 years renovating the crumbling historical site just because she says, “we were hoping to save this small landmark from just being another demolished building.”  Her experience has generated an intense passion for restoration, especially the revival of Biggs, and thus she found herself taking a class called “Rural Revival Challenge” alongside others that share her interests. Her classmates hail from about 18 different states and all are involved in the leadership of a small town, a group project like “Project Biggs” or own their own historical properties. Shadd shares, “We all face unique and similar problems... most of us all struggle with downtown empty buildings and how to utilize them in the best possible manner so that the community is flourishing and not crumbling.”

Shadd says she personally has been working on the perception of visitors coming into Biggs, “We love our town and want our people to be proud of it! …. The drive from the highway to downtown Biggs is so pretty, but once you get past the hotel building, it is very apparent that we have crumbling infrastructures and a serious lack of downtown businesses.”

A quick, colorful, and easy way to beautify an area, tried by one of Shadd’s classmates, was to paint murals in dilapidated areas. The effort is part community donation and part talent; Businesses and people can contribute to paint and supply costs, while local artists volunteer their time and skills to create visually appealing works of art on the sides of business buildings (with owners’ permission of course).

Shadd thought a little visual would help and used her photoshop skills to create some inspiring “before” and “after” images of downtown Biggs with murals in unsightly areas. She is looking for property and business owners in Biggs who would be interested in participating and artists with serious skills to contact her on the Project Biggs Facebook page. She says, “Other communities revitalize their downtown areas and flourish and who’s to say it can’t be done here? I’m going to take the optimistic road here and say it could happen!”