Vallejoans will have a chance to enjoy small bites, purchase fine art and contribute to an innovative public-private partnership beautifying Wilson Avenue in West Vallejo on Thursday.

The Vallejo Heights Neighborhood Association and the City of Vallejo are partnering to replace dead plants in the median on a portion of Wilson Avenue. The association is hoping to raise $2,500 to buy the plants, and the city will put them in and repair a damaged water line.

“Jaguar With Two Dragons,” a print by Sal Garcia, the artist who created the album cover for Santana’s “Ceremony: Remixes and Rarities” album, as well as an abstract painting by Vallejo painter Alan Vietze and eight other pieces will be up for auction at the Mira Theater on Daniels Avenue from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday.

Association board members Darrell Conley, Steve Sidle and Jeff Kingman met in March with City of Vallejo Landscape Maintenance Manager Scott Tedrow to discuss the state of the Wilson Avenue median between Hichborn Street and the north section of Wilson.

“(Tedrow) was eager to try to help us move the project along and offered help in getting the irrigation system working,” said Diana Lang, a member of the association. “Our plan was to have citizens do the planting work, but it turned out that wasn’t allowable for legal reasons.

“So late last month, board vice-president, Dian Allen, contacted the interim Director of Public Works, Oscar Alcantar. He got back to her very promptly and assured her that he would find a way to make the project happen,” Lang said.

The rest is history, or will be if the organization is able to raise the money.

All the plants planned for the median except the trees are drought-tolerant and low-maintenance, meaning that they won’t require a lot of water and attention. They include a plant called Elijah Blue Fescue (no relation to Cher’s son, Elijah Blue Allman), which as the name suggests is indeed blue, as well as Littleleaf Linden trees and New Zealand Flax, the latter of which is an evergreen perennial.

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