Terriers Around Town

West Springfield is embarking on a yearlong, fundraising outdoor art project that will include businesses, artists and West Side students.  The town Mascot is a West Highland White Terrier (Westie).  There will be 40 forty-inch fiberglass Westies painted by 40 artists displayed in ‘litters’ throughout the main streets.  Each terrier is sponsored by businesses, which choose the artwork from a portfolio of work with designs for terriers on different themes.

Fiberglass animals have been a popular venue throughout the country to raise funds for charity and to increase tourism in each community.

West Side will have many events centered around the artwork, including an introductory ‘Naked Puppy Party’ in March, where artists, sponsors and the general public will meet at the Walt Steinmetz Studio to get a glimpse of the first unpainted terrier.  From there, the committee will invite the press to a breakfast when the other 39 terriers are delivered to the high school.  Other events will include a mid-May to mid-August semi-permanent display of the finished terriers, businesses will have special events to unveil their terriers and have specials linked to the Terriers around Town theme, videos on the local access channel, guided tours, special art days and parties, and a parade at the Big E on West Springfield day.

At the end of the display the animals will be taken in and auctioned off to the highest bidder.

The Terriers around Town committee has already launched a website for events and a Face Book Fan Page. It also has  some products with the terrier theme.  Events will be posted on the Mass. State tourism website.  Information is being sent to organizations that have dog shows throughout  the U. S. The outdoor art project is expected to bring in visitors  from all over New England and beyond.

These public/private projects bring a big return for the business community.  The schools will benefit with innovative arts programs; business will see an increase in traffic flow; and artists will have a new audience for their creativity.

In any economy, the terriers committee believes that it is the “communities” that can think creatively and act together that will survive and thrive.