03/26/04 — Arts Council unveils pig in Fremont

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Arts Council unveils pig in Fremont

By News-Argus Staff
Published in News on March 26, 2004 2:03 PM

FREMONT -- The Arts Council of Wayne County Board of Directors held its March meeting in Fremont on Thursday so members could attend the unveiling of another of the sculptures in the "When Pigs Fly" public art and fund-raising project.

Among those in attendance were town aldermen, police officers, 30 preschool students, a representative of Wal-Mart, which contributed $1,500 toward sponsorship of the sculpture, artist Sharlene Thomas of Clayton, who painted "When Pigs Fly, We Will Harvest Rainbows," and her sister, Candace Rohn, also of Clayton.

BB&T landscaped the small park where the pig sculpture was placed, and the Arts Council and artist were pleased with how attractive the space was.

The pig sculpture was placed in the center of the park.

After the ceremony, the board members held their meeting at BB&T. There were not enough members for a quorum.

Phyllis Woodard, co-chairman of the "When Pigs Fly" project, updated board members on how the project is going. She said that the sculpture, "Pigcasso," will be unveiled at 8:30 a.m. in the atrium of the County Courthouse. Everett, Womble, Finan, Lawrence & Brown are sponsors of that sculpture.

She also said the Neese's-sponsored pig was returning to the Arts Council after being at the North Carolina State Fair and the Neese's corporate office in Greensboro.

The sculpture, "Pigleaf Piglet," will be unveiled at Goldsboro City Hall at 11:30 a.m. Thursday, April 22, and then the Arts Council board will return to the Art Center for its April meeting.

All of the artists needed to finish painting the 30 pig sculptures have been acquired, Mrs. Woodard said, and a mailing is being worked on that will provide an in-depth update about the project. The mailing will be sent to project sponsors.

Sponsors are still needed. Mrs. Woodard said people can contribute any amount of money.

She proposed that the board have a pig workshop. Among the items on the agenda would be planning a pig treasure hunt project and planning recruitment of more sponsors.

*In other business, President Ron Taylor said that Ven Faulk has agreed to be chairman of the second annual barbecue cook-off. This year's cook-off will be part of the planned Feast in the East festival in late October.

*Taylor also said that the Appraisal Fair will be postponed. It had originally been scheduled for mid-April.

*He told the board that the Arts Council will not be able to put up the art market sign it had originally discussed because of a city ordinance.

*He also told board members that the Arts Council has put its Tom Reynolds eagle sculptures on eBay for the next 10 days to see if they can be sold.

The Arts Council would like $100,000 for the sculptures. The minimum bid is $25,000.