The 15-foot statue of Carl Sandburg that has stood in the town square since August will be officially dedicated to Galesburg this Saturday.
Special guests that are expected to be in attendance include the statue’s sculptor Lonnie Stewart, Mayor John Pritchard, Poetry Slam founder Marc K. Smith, Knox College Creative Writing Director Robin Metz and the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame’s Donald Evans.
The Galesburg Public Art Commission has spearheaded the effort to commission and pay for the statue.
GPAC Vice President Heather Norman says that about $20,000 to $30,000 is still left to raise out of the $250,000 for the project.
Norman tells WGIL that the art work honoring Galesburg’s most famous literary son has already been a nice addition to the downtown.
“I think the sculpture looks very nice,” Norman says. “We’ve gotten a lot of compliments on it. It’s been a real enhancement to the square.”
Norman adds that while some funds still need to be raised most of the work on the statue site itself is complete.
“We still have some landscaping to do, although that probably won’t be done by the time Saturday rolls around, it will be done by May,” Norman adds. “The project is almost complete.”
Originally the Sandburg statue was to stand with the fountain that it replaced but the GPAC found that the statue’s base would encroach on the fountain.
