Hendersonville officials say they are excited to have so much interest this year from people wanting to sponsor the bears, and ended up capping the number of bears at 20 per year, the Hendersonville Times-News reports.
Since 2003, The Bearfootin’ Public Art Walk has helped raise money for Historic Downtown Hendersonville and local nonprofits. Funds from last year’s auction assisted with the artist selection process that resulted in the creation of the Mountain Memory fountain recently added to downtown.
Twenty bears were revealed Friday evening at the First Citizens Bank Plaza.
“We haven’t had 20 bears in more than five years I think, so it’s nice to see the sort of reinvigoration,” Lew said. “We did 10, 12, 13 bears the last three years, so this year was a real boost in terms of the number of folks that wanted to participate … which is great for downtown, because that means we’ve got bears really all over the place.”
A crowd of around 150 people flocked to the plaza for the unveiling. Children gathered in front, peeking under the sheets as each bear was introduced one by one along with its sponsor, artist and beneficiaries.
Hello- Last summer I visited Hendersonville, NC for the first time and discovered your beautiful bearfootin’ bears. They are beautiful and so creative! They add such a unifying ‘happy’ feeling to your town.
I would like to initiate a similar project here in Coraopolis, PA which is undergoing a similar renaissance. Can you share who you contracted to obtain the raw bear ‘forms’ for artists to paint? I would like to come up with a different theme relative to our history; NOT copy your bears.
Any guidance you could share is appreciated.
Cindy