Wayland Cultural Council approves pool mural and Muslim student dinner funding

WAYLAND -- February 18, 2026, Wayland Cultural Council backs pool mural and student-led community dinner. Meeting remotely Feb. 18 under Chair Pallavi Nagesha, the council voted unanimously to fund a mural at the vandalized town pool wall and a Ramadan community dinner proposed by associate member Mustafa Kheir on behalf of the Wayland High School Muslim Students Association, with specific allocations from a $1,035 discretionary pool deferred to March. Kheir said the dinner aimed "to foster understanding between different groups in Wayland"; the council conditioned approval on revised language emphasizing cultural focus and youth leadership over religious framing. Marie Isenburg will contact the DPW and Historical Society member Richard Conrad about a $300-to-$500 rail trail bench near the depot. The annual grantee reception was tentatively set for April 10 at the Council on Aging, with Maryam Libdi handling the venue application and Naresh Mysore preparing a reimbursement-procedure presentation. A vote on Scarlett Hui's Echoes of Liberty exhibition was postponed pending her response.