Magic Touch

The art is hands-on along the Sculpture Trail at Lyons.

A A A Comments (0) By Susan Froyd Thursday, May 18 2006

"At the moment, I'm installing a giant carrot," Lyons sculptor John King blurts into his cell phone. He's helping to raise "Carrot on a Stick?" a sixteen-foot sailcloth veggie by Garima Fairfax, up a telephone pole. "Only in Lyons could you get permission to do this," he adds. "This is how we're hoping to lure people in off the highway."

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But his carrot-chasing ruse is well-justified: The super-sized rabbit food draws attention to King's brainchild, the Sculpture Trail at Lyons, which started two years ago as a one-shot project in his own yard and now features more than forty works, on view all summer along a walking trail from downtown to the banks of the North St. Vrain River.

For folks who traverse the trail, the experience is everything: Rather than walking around simply looking at art, viewers are immersed in it, from the tree by the library hung with knitted hammocks holding stones (created by a group of Lyons knitters) to the fairy village a group of kids built under a bush, as well as the more sophisticated contributions by professional artists from around the region. Plus, it's just plain fun. "The city loves having all these happy visitors," King says. "The art tourist is the best tourist one could ask for."

Walk the Sculpture Trail from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily through October 22; guidebooks are available for $2 at the Lyons Visitors Center, 350 Broadway, or at trailheads located at the Barking Dog Cafe, 447 Main Street, and the Stone Cup Cafe, 442 High Street. Call 303-823-6828 or visit www.sculpturetrail.com.
June 9-Oct. 21, 9 a.m.-7 p.m., 2007