After two months of painting, a 2,200 hundred square foot mural in the town of Morris is finally complete. The community gathered at the local Bigway store Friday morning for an unveiling.

Pat Schmitke, owner of the Morris Bigway, said it's been an exciting project to watch as it progressed, and notes he is glad to have been a part of it. He said the whole thing started a few years ago when local artist, Sarah Collard, approached him with the idea.

"She did a bunch of work for it and we sent some renditions back-and-forth to find something that worked well for us. And when we finally came up with a picture that we were both happy with, she sent me a photo of the store with the mural on it and that was it, I was sold right there and we just had to figure out a way to make it go ahead," explained Schmitke.

The project was funded by multiple sources including the Town of Morris, the R.M. of Morris, numerous government grants and various private and business donors.

Artist Sarah Collard said she's glad the community rallied behind the project and supported it.

"I was really proud of it. You sort of realize 'Wow I did all that, that's cool!' ", said Collard as she described her reaction when the tarp covering the mural finally came down.

The giant painting is called 'Follow the Leader' and Collard explained she wanted people to see the mural and understand all of the elements that make up the Manitoba Stampede and Exhibition, which is hosted annually in Morris.

"Every year they have a different person who organizes it, and people do take their turn, and so that's also a suggestion of that. And then also in the composition it rolls, so everybody follows everybody else."

Gavin van der Linde, Mayor for Morris, called the mural a "beautiful work of art" that will record a piece of the town's history for some time. "It's something the community can take pride in."