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‘150 Sails Up’ trivia • The sailboat sculptures come in two sizes: A 20-inch size on a wooden base, and a 4-foottall version on a cement base. There were 75 of each size manufactured for the project. • Nearly 100 artists were involved in the project, including students from Detroit Lakes High School.
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• Almost half the artwork is vinyl wrapped, using digital images of original art. This technology opened the project up to media like watercolor, photography, oils, colored pencil and encaustic painting, which would otherwise not have been usable on the steel sculptures. • Three pairs of multigenerational artists (i.e. a parent and child) were involved in the project: Hans and Megan Gilsdorf, Becky and Emma Mitchell, and Twyla Bucholz and Tanya Strom. • The farthest traveling artist (doing direct artwork) was Brian Mahoney of Rapid City, South Dakota. • The farthest participating digital artist (in vinyl wrap format) was Erik Sukke of Smyrna, Georgia.
6 1. The ribbon cutting for the rededicated city sailboat sculpture concluded Detroit Lakes’ formal 150th birthday celebration on July 29, 2021 in the City Park, though other festivities continued into the evening such as an ice cream social, magic show, face painting, “Hoot and Toot” city vehicle fleet showcase and Trucks & Tunes event. Vicki Gerdes / Life at the Lakes 2. Detroit Lakes’ 150th birthday celebration was held July 25-30, 2021, culminating in a Sesquicentennial Birthday Bash. Logo Courtesy of the City of Detroit Lakes 3. Hundreds of people strolled through Detroit Lakes’ Kent Freeman Arena on April 30, 2021 to view all the sailboat sculptures created for the “150 Sails Up in DL” public art project. Vicki Gerdes / Life at the Lakes
10 | Life at the Lakes
4. This sign outside the Detroit Lakes Pavilion highlighted all the festivities planned for the city’s 150th Birthday Bash. Marie Johnson / Life at the Lakes 5. A total of 150 sailboat sculptures, each uniquely decorated by more than 80 regional artists, were on display during the Sailboat Regatta Party on April 30. Vicki Gerdes / Life at the Lakes 6. Matt Aakre was the featured performer under the City Park Bandshell at the Trucks & Tunes event. Vicki Gerdes / Life at the Lakes