08/28/13 Visitors to the 47th Annual Marshall County Blueberry Festival over Labor Day weekend in Centennial Park in Plymouth will see a very special piece of artwork. In fact, it’s a very unique piece of art.
A wooden statue of Blueberry Hank will stand proudly next to information booth number one near Jefferson School.
This unexpected piece of art work began as an act of nature. During a summer storm in late June a large red maple tree nearly fell on information booth number one. Employees of the Plymouth Park Department cleaned up the downed tree debris but left the large trunk standing. Festival board members came up with the idea of having a chain-saw wood carver do something with the trunk.
Doug Ricks from Koontz Lake has been a vendor at the festival and was contacted and agreed to do his handy work on the tree. He started on Monday morning and completed the caving by Tuesday afternoon. The statue of Blueberry Hank includes the leaves on the top of his head and is completed with his tennis shoes on his feet.
The carving is complete and local artist, Larry Holloway has agreed to paint Hank, although it hasn’t been determined if the painting will be completed prior to the festival or not.
What a great place to have a souvenir photo taken. Take a minute and check out the wood carving near Blueberry Information Booth #1.
