On a sunny April afternoon filled with live music, fried pickles, and festival crowds, families and visitors of all ages gathered outside Southern Bank’s headquarters in downtown Mount Olive to help turn a blank wall into a colorful reflection of the community around them.
For 125 years, Southern has supported local families, small businesses, and the traditions that bring people together. That community spirit showed up in full color at the NC Pickle Festival as festivalgoers picked up paintbrushes, snapped photos, and helped bring Southern’s new 125th anniversary mural to life in the same town where the bank was founded in 1901.
Created by North Carolina muralist Max Dowdle, director of NC Public Art, the mural celebrates the people, agriculture, landscapes, and traditions that have shaped eastern North Carolina and Virginia over generations. Located in the parking lot between 116 E. Main Street and 110 E. Main Street, it now stands as a vibrant addition to downtown Mount Olive and a lasting reflection of the region’s identity.
A Mural Built by the Community
The mural became part of the NC Pickle Festival experience through a special community activation that invited attendees to help paint sections of the artwork themselves.
Leading up to the festival, Dowdle intentionally left portions of the mural unfinished so community members could take part during the event. Throughout the day, families, neighbors, and visitors of all ages stopped by to add their own brushstrokes, creating a collaborative moment that felt equal parts community art project and festival memory.
“The mural has quickly become a source of pride — not just for the staff who live and work in Mount Olive, but for colleagues across Virginia and North Carolina,” said Matt Smith, senior vice president, marketing and digital at Southern Bank. “It’s a meaningful expression of our local roots, our shared heritage, and the communities we’re proud to serve. It reflects who we are as a bank: deeply connected to this region, invested in its future, and committed to building trust and long-term relationships wherever we serve.”
If you look closely at the mural, you’ll spot meaningful nods to the region throughout. Cardinals and dogwood flowers reference the natural beauty shared across North Carolina and Virginia, while coastal elements like the lighthouse reflect the area’s deep connection to eastern waterways and maritime history. Vintage planes and agricultural imagery also speak to the industries, traditions, and communities that have helped shape the region over generations.
Creating Something That Lasts
Dowdle said community involvement plays a major role in his work because it helps people feel connected to the places they call home.
“I always love to incorporate community engagement into the project,” he shared during the event. “People that live in the community are going to live with this piece after I’m gone, so it’s important they get to take ownership of it.”
The mural also reflects Dowdle’s broader mission through NC Public Art and the Paint NC initiative, which focuses on bringing large-scale public art to communities across the state.
He described murals as a way to instantly transform public spaces by creating energy, color, and visual storytelling that people connect with long after the paint dries.
For Southern, the project represented more than a celebration of the past. It was an opportunity to create something lasting alongside the community that has been part of the bank’s story for generations.
As Southern marks 125 years of serving communities across eastern North Carolina and Virginia, the Mount Olive mural stands as a reminder that community is built together: one story, one tradition, and one brushstroke at a time.
