From: Jennifer Hanson, thenorthbaybay.ca staff
NORTH BAY – Neighbouring Lake Nipissing isn’t home to dolphins, but the city welcomed two bottlenecks on Sunday.
“In cooperation with The Ontario Regional Centre for Artists, The City of North Bay is pleased to present our newest art exhibit,” declared Councillor Tanya Vrebosch before pulling a curtain off two 8 foot tall meat mammals.
“Dolphins are symbolic of joy, happiness, and intelligence,” continued Vrebosch. “And the meat is fun!”
The two statues, which are joined together with heavy stitching and kept erect with rebar, are now on display inside of North Bay’s Rotary Splash Pad.
Long Term Dolphins
“We chose the Splash Pad so that the water from the giant bucket can keep the meat fresh and tender,” explains Ontario Regional Centre for Artists CFO Harvey Valas.
“Most of the raw materials for the statues was donated anonymously,” explains Valas. “The city immediately heard about the donation somehow and supplied us with the rebar and stitching.”
Valas expects that meat dolphins to stay for “the whole summer and probably a bit into the fall.”
“Thanks to an additional grant from The Ontario Arts Council, we’ve hired Roger to help maintain the piece.”
Roger’s duties include re-stitching the meat when needed and fending off seagulls.
“Gotta keep the birds away from the meat so the kids can enjoy,” says Rogers. “Kids love the Splash Pad and kids love dolphins, and the meat is fun.”
Thanks!