The Marshall County community is invited to attend a dedication ceremony in front of the Marshall County Museum, 123 N. Michigan St., on Friday, August, 12 at 1 PM EDT for the dedication of the Indiana Bicentennial Bison. The ceremony to install the bison as a permanent feature in downtown Plymouth will include comments from representatives from the Marshall County United Way, Marshall County Community Foundation, Mayor Mark Senter, the Heartland Artists, and the Marshall County Museum.
For the past 12 weeks, 10 artists from Heartland Artists have painted 16 unique and colorful depictions on a 5-ft., 100-lb. bison in celebration of Indiana’s “Bison-tennial.” Each artistic rendering, painted directly on the body of the bison, represents historic sites in the communities that make up Marshall County. Heartland Artists collectively donated almost 200 hours to memorialize Indiana’s 200th birthday and are still accepting donations to fund this effort. The artists painted the Marshall County bison as an extremely rare white American Bison, considered spiritually significant in Native American culture.
The bison is part of an Indiana statewide public art project supported by the Indiana Association of United Ways. The officially endorsed legacy project aims to celebrate Indiana’s rich history. The United Way of Marshall County served as the lead organization in this effort which included a second bison in Bremen.
Thanks should be given to the following sponsors of the Marshall County bison project:
Ancilla Domini Sisters
Beta Delta Chapter, Plymouth
CTE Solutions
Fernbaughs
Friends of the Library
Heartland Artists Gallery
Heiden Creative
Lincolnway Auto
Marshall Count Community Foundation
Marshall County Museum
Marshall County Tourism
Mayor’s Youth Council
Pilot News
Plymouth Chamber of Commerce
Kevin Boyer
Shirley Casbon
Doug Haberland
Paul and Carol Nye
Linda Rippy
Shelley Heiden, who volunteered to spearhead and lead the project, will announce the name of the bison from entries that were submitted by local community members. George Schricker and Tim Pike will perform an original piece created especially for this historic event.
For more information about the Indiana statewide “Bison-tennial” efforts, please visit http://www.iauw.org/bison/.
ABOUT THE UNITED WAY OF MARSHALL COUNTY
For over 50 years, the United Way of Marshall County has continuously conducted annual fundraising campaigns in support of local health and human service not-for-profit organizations.The United Way has been the conduit for helping thousands of individuals, regardless of income level, contribute to a united community cause. United Way volunteers have spent millions of hours advocating for much needed programs and services that help build a stronger community and, as a result, the United Way has allocated more than $8 million to local agencies for everything from basic necessities like food to tutoring programs for youth to helping the elderly get to the doctor. The United Way of Marshall County remains committed to igniting the caring power of the human spirit to help meet the most basic needs of education, health and financial stability. Together we create a stronger future for Marshall County.
