It’s official. The heron lands this Friday.
Entitled Heron’s Landing, the $210,000, 25-foot tall bronze sculpture that was placed along the Lakeside Park pathway this August will be unveiled at a public ceremony Friday at 2 p.m.
“The City is very glad to welcome Heron’s Landing to our waterfront,” said city councillor and Cultural Development Committee representative Donna Macdonald. “It’s a beautiful sculpture, located in a beautiful spot.”
Designed by West Kelowna artist Jock Hildebrand and gifted to the City of Nelson by developer Michael Lobsinger, the sculpture’s journey has been fascinating.
Lobsinger originally commissioned Hildebrand to create Heron’s Landing for a Kelowna condominium project, but plans to erect the piece fell through.
After the City of Kelowna, West Kelowna and the Kelowna Art Gallery declined Lobsinger’s offer to donate the sculpture, the two men presented the opportunity to several municipalities.
The City of Nelson and the Cultural Development Committee acted fast when they got word of the opportunity.
“I’m very pleased Heron’s Landing finally found a good home,” said Hildebrand, who’ll attend Friday’s unveiling along with Lobsinger.
“I think Nelson has a beautiful sculpture, and having a patron such as Michael Lobsinger allows sculptors like me to explore ideas, hopefully for the benefit of society in general.”
Hildebrand took more than a year to complete Heron’s Landing, which was cast in over 100 pieces at his West Kelowna foundry.
Already dubbed “The Heron” by many locals the sculpture’s new home, on Heritage Inn Point, was selected by public poll.
Macdonald notes that the City is very interested in increasing the amount of public art throughout the city.
“There are no new works planned right now,” said Macdonald, “but we’re always looking for opportunities, and we hope there’ll be many more to come.”