Ribbon cutting for gift of sculpture to Lake Forest Park

The crowd assembles for the dedication of 5x5 by Rodger Squirrell
Photo by Jerry Pickard

At 1pm on Sunday, September 25, the Lake Forest Park Garden Tour formally gifted a major piece of art to the City of Lake Forest Park, in honor of the City's 50th anniversary.

"The Garden Tour committee decided to ensure that the tour was a community-building event and some proceeds from the tour have been spent locally by the four producing organizations. Thanks to generous sponsors and thousands of ticket buyers over the past nine years, the Tour is now also able to make a contribution of a significant piece of public art to the City.”

Members of the sponsoring organizations watch the ribbon cutting.
Photo by Jerry Pickard

Current Garden Tour Chair Ros Bird made the presentation to Mayor Dave Hutchinson, who accepted on behalf of the City.  Mayor Hutchinson, Bird, and the artist cut the ribbon.

The piece was created by Lake Forest Park resident Rodger Squirrell, who designed a metal sculpture of five columns with sine waves on each side. They are intersected by a dry river rock streambed.

5 x 5.  Photo courtesy LFP Garden Club

The sides of the sculpture reflect the surrounding trees and sky, appearing to change color and texture. All sides of the columns are identical but from even a short distance some appear to be dark, some green, and some very bright silver.

Rodger Squirrel is a local resident who recently retired from teaching at South Seattle Community College and is now following his artistic passion full-time. (See previous article).

Pam Brown and Candy Richards,
founding members of the Garden Tour
Photo by Jerry Pickard

Background of Garden Tour Gift

The Secret Gardens of Lake Forest Park Garden Tour and Garden Market was created nine years ago when the City invited the Garden Club to talk about the possibility of creating a community event. The Garden Club members were intrigued and suggested a committee made up of additional community-based groups to volunteer to pull the event together. Over the course of the nine tours there have been hundreds of volunteers helping to make the tours a success.

The tour of local gardens is a peek behind the gates of the lovely homes and gardens in Lake Forest Park. It is an opportunity for visitors to learn about good and sustainable garden practices. Visitors can examine the impacts of landscapes on the land and to relish the beauty of our neighborhoods.

The proceeds from the event were divided in two. Half of the funds were distributed to the four producing organizations, the LFP Garden Club, the Friends of Third Place Commons, the Lake Forest Park Stewardship Foundation and the Arts Council. Proceeds distributed to these non-profit organizations have been used to support programs in the community.

From the beginning of the tours, the remainder of the proceeds was reserved in order to make a gift of a significant piece of art to the City of Lake Forest Park. The Committee donated $5,000 to the Blue Heron Pedestrian Bridge artwork and then commissioned this piece of sculpture for the City’s 50th Anniversary celebration.