Mason City is home to a lot of great things—-the last remaining Frank Lloyd Wright hotel–The Historic Park Inn which I blogged about here, many parks and recreation areas, a fabulous renovated library complete with coffee shop, The Stockman House, a wonderful historical area featuring Prairie School architecture in Rock Glen ( It is the largest collection of prairie style homes in a natural setting in the world), Music Man Square which pays homage to Meredith Willson of The Music Man fame and now—-River City Sculptures on Parade ( this is their Facebook page link).
We have waited to “take the walk” until all the sculptures were installed and today was the day to do it. It was a bright sunny crisp day and the perfect Sunday afternoon outing to introduce Carlton (Chris’s brother who is visiting) to Mason City. I picked up maps and ballots at the library earlier in the week and we prepped him on what we were going to be doing. Voting on a People’s Choice Award will be valid through September 2, 2013 and the sculpture with the most votes will be purchased by the city to become part of a permanent collection.
There are 26 sculptures in all—too many to include in one post so I will spread this out over a few posts and will include links to past posts in case you miss one and want to see them all. It is a pretty amazing thing and we all enjoyed walking the downtown and taking it all in. A great thing for Mason City so if you live close please consider taking the time to take it all in.
I will feature the sculptures in the order that they are presented in the brochure and the walking trail.
Matriarchal Moon Creature by Reven Swanson
3d6+4 by Craig Snyder
3d6+4 by Craig Snyde
The dice sparked a bit of controversy in our little town. Some objected to the “gambling” aspect but the artist related that it was really a depiction of board games like Yahtzee that he remembered playing while he was growing up. The real issue appears to be the placement of the dice in the shade garden in city park—-much to the dismay of those who take care of the gardens they were positioned in a way that damaged some of the gardens. You can read one of the many articles pertaining to this in the Globe Gazette by clicking on this link.
Check Up by Carol Cunningham
All in the Same Boat by Kyle Fokken with Carlton
Jumping Through Hoops by Jacque Frazee
Jumping Through Hoops by Jacque Frazee
Effortlessly Buoyant by Gregory Mendez
Can you tell who the sculptor modeled the sculpture after???
Friendship Knot (4) by Yupin Pramotepipop
And yes—that is part of the Historic Park Inn in the background!
Bottoms Up by Deb Zeller
Which is your favorite so far?? Stay tuned for future installments of this fabulous display in our town. Don’t forget–Comments for a Cause this month goes to help support a Habitat for Humanity trip for my niece and her husband!!!! Thanks!
