FHS students paint bus in honor of Woodstock

Students at Fallbrook High School have been hard at work painting a 30-year-old school bus for North County FM station Rez Radio 91.3. The bus, now named Daisy, was donated to the radio station by the Bonsall Unified School District.

The idea to paint the bus came about early last year when Rez Radio changed its call letters to the San Diego heritage call sign, KPRI – now standing for Kupa Pala Rez Indians. The students, led by fellow student Caiden Metts and under the direction of art instructor Bill Richardson, began working on the bus in the winter, and are expected to finish before graduation.

Fallbrook High Art Department head, Bill Richardson, agreed that the project would help students learn by having them study a period of rich pop-art culture and gain practical experience while creating a large public work of art.

The bus’s “hippie” theme is in honor of the 50th anniversary of Woodstock and also represents the music of the 60s, which is still a core aspect of Rez Radio’s programming today.

The students have spent hours on the bus, from mapping out the bus at the beginning, to putting the finishing touches on the smallest details.

“A lot of my day is spent here painting,” Marley Price said. Price said she spent multiple class periods a day working on the bus.

But all of the hard work led to a lot of fun as well.

“I liked doing the detail stuff, all the outlining and the little detail,” Imogen Isaac, who was hard at work painting while being interviewed, said.

Holly Salyards, who worked on the submarine and bear portions of the bus, said that her favorite part of the bus was how bright it was.

“[I like] all the color. I think it’s really pretty,” Salyards said.

The bright colors and swirling patterns certainly do make it hard to miss. After some small mechanical issues are resolved, the bus will bring those bright colors to the streets and will be booked at promotional appearances leading up to Woodstock.

“The station would like to express our gratitude to the students and faculty of Fallbrook High School for their hard work,” KPRI said in a statement to the Village News. “Expect to see us at parades and community events.”