What is a mural of Alex Trebek?
After 37 years of schooling the masses, Alex Trebek is getting schooled in his hometown of Sudbury, Ontario. But not that way! A three-storey mural memorializing the late longtime Jeopardy! host is currently underway on the side of his alma mater, Sudbury Secondary School, as part of the city's urban art and music festival, Up Here.
Trebek, originally from Sudbury, Ontario, went to Sudbury Secondary School, then called Sudbury High School, in the 1950s. His father came from Ukraine and met his mother in Sudbury. His mother, originally a Lagacé, has a street named after her family in Sudbury’s historic Flour Mill neighbourhood.
A young Alex Trebek with his mother Lucille Lagacé and his younger sister Barbara. (Alex Trebek collection)
Canadian artist Kevin Ledo, known for his stunning portraiture murals all around the world—including Leonard Cohen in Montreal, Rosa Parks in Detroit, and David Suzuki in Toronto—started painting the tribute mural August 11.
The Up Here urban art and music festival, known for its creation of new murals around Sudbury and presenting emerging artists, runs August 20 to 22, 2021.
“Trebek has always had a really special place in all our hearts. He’s kind of been the unofficial mascot of all our projects, going way back to the We Live Up Here books in 2013. We made pins of him to raise funds for pancreatic cancer research.” said Christian Pelletier, co-founder of Up Here festival. “Heck, even when we had to change the name of the festival from Up Fest to Up Here in 2016, we jokingly considered changing the name of the festival to Trebek Fest.”
Kevin Ledo at work on the mural in Sudbury. Photo: Chris Thériault
The mural, created in partnership with the Rainbow District School Board, will take artist Kevin Ledo a little over a week to complete and will be wrapped up by the weekend of Up Here festival.
Raised in Montreal, Ledo has crisscrossed the globe with his art, which in turn crisscrosses back-and-forth between murals, street art, fine art, and installations. Ledo’s pieces are grounded in classical techniques and materials but plug into contemporary perspectives. His public murals aim to reflect the communities they’re found in.
“This is going to be a really special piece on a really special wall,” said Ledo. “And, how fitting is it to have it go up facing the Sudbury Public Library—a place of knowledge, curiosity, and everything Trebek stood for.”
While Sudburians never forgot the iconic Trebek came from their northern community, better known for nickel mining than celebrity ex-pats, it appears the memory was mutual. In 2019, Sudbury Secondary School issued an honorary diploma to the famous Sudburian. Trebek sent back a funny thank you note. “I plan to use it to lobby for a raise in salary,” he wrote. “Still have fond memories of Sudbury High.”
Alex Trebek’s thank you note to Sudbury Secondary School after receiving an honorary diploma from his alma mater
Up Here is an annual urban art and music festival in Sudbury, Ontario that has curated over 50 pieces of public art since its inception in 2015. The festival will welcome back live music with a series of free outdoor concerts taking place on Durham Street in downtown Sudbury from August 20 to 22, 2021. Up Here Square, the festival’s main site adorned with its 10-metre high geodesic dome, pop-up bar, and DJs will open to the public a week before the festival as of August 13, 2021.
Up Here is made possible thanks to the community support of countless allies including Presenting Sponsor Downtown Sudbury, Barrydowne Paint, Equipment World, Greater Sudbury Utilities, the Ontario Arts Council, the government of Ontario, Ontario Creates, the City of Greater Sudbury, Sudbury Tourism, RBC Royal Bank, Duplicators, Collège Boréal, Dalron, Rainbow Schools, Studio123, and many more.