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Feature article
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Wolf sculptures represent Abingdon’s heritage
By Jessica Fischer
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Wolves will remain on display throughout downtown Abingdon until Oct. 23
Who’s afraid of Virginia’s wolves?
Certainly not Advance Abingdon president Gary Kimbrell, who spearheaded the public art project that’s bringing 27 fiberglass wolves, sponsored by local businesses and organizations and painted by area artists, to Abingdon’s historic downtown district.
Kimbrell’s wife is from Lexington, N.C., where whimsical pig sculptures were erected in conjunction with the town’s annual barbecue festival. When Kimbrell began tossing around ideas for a similar public art project in Abingdon, having wolves represent the town and its rich history seemed like a “howling” good idea.
According to local lore, legendary frontiersman and trailblazer Daniel Boone camped at the base of what is now Courthouse Hill while traveling through the area in 1760. During the night, Boone’s dogs came under attack by wolves emerging from a cave at the hill’s crest, prompting Boone to give Abingdon its first name — “Wolf Hills.”
“About nine months ago I met with Rick Rose at Barter [Theatre], and he and I started tossing around some ideas about how we could do it,” said Kimbrell, who lives directly behind the famed cave that sits below the Cave House Craft Shop on Main Street. “He and I started talking about it moreso, then I got with William King [Museum] and we talked about it more, so we just created a committee.”
In spite of the difficult economic climate, organizers had no trouble rounding up financial backing for the project, with sponsors ponying up $500 each for the full-size wolves and $300 each for the smaller pups.
“We went out in February, March, and just started asking people if they would sponsor one,” Kimbrell said. “I asked 28 people. Of the 28, I got 24 to say yes immediately. Three said let me think about it, and I never had to go back to them. Only one said no.”
Local artists were then asked to submit design ideas for the wolves, and those chosen to carry out their plans are a diverse lot, with the youngest being 11 years old and the eldest of the bunch being, well, older than Kimbrell, he said, laughing.
The wolves, crafted by a company outside of Chicago, Ill., arrived around the middle of May, and the artists wasted no time implementing their designs.
“The House on Main, the restaurant, their design is a one-wolf bluegrass band. It has guitars and banjos and an autoharp underneath it,” Kimbrell said. “The Cave House artisans did a quilted wolf, a standard wolf covered in a quilt, and they named it Rebecca Boone Wolf.”
The finished sculptures were brought to Barter’s stage shop last Friday and will be installed in front of businesses, offices and residences along Main Street next Saturday. The wolves will remain on display until Oct. 23, when they’ll be moved to Stonewall Square and auctioned off during a fundraising gala for Advance Abingdon.
“We’ll use the money, one, to try to do this again next year, and then also to fund other projects,” Kimbrell said.
Maps showing the locations of the wolves are available at the Abingdon Visitors Center, the Washington County Public Library and other sites hosting the sculptures. Wolf T-shirts and posters will be available soon at the visitors center and at the Advance Abingdon office, 335 Cummings St.
For more information, call 276-698-5667.
--------GoTriCities--------
Advance Abingdon’s wolf sculpture project
WHEN: Through Oct. 23
WHERE: Abingdon, Va.
COST: Free
CONTACT: 276-698-5667
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