Posted by admin | 01.21.2011 | Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Hospital

Turtles on parade

Chicago has the cows. Anchorage has the salmon. Cincinnati has the pigs. And Buffalo has the… well the buffalo. Now add Topsail to the list because the turtles are coming! While the real turtles will start to crawl up our beaches in May, Topsail Island will get a preview as artistic sea turtle sculptures will go on display in April.

It all starts with 22 bare fiberglass shapes, turtle shapes to be exact. They are then distributed to various artists who take these unadorned turtle shapes and do what they do best – turn them into art. Using a variety of media they decorate the turtles and turn them into works of artistic creativity. After weatherproofing, the turtles are then put on display as an open art exhibit in popular places around the island.

The parade of turtles at Topsail is part of a project partnering the Surf City Art Guild and the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Hospital. This collaboration stems from Jane Schaar reaching out to the guild to use this as a fundraising opportunity.  Schaar volunteers at the hospital and saw this as a great opportunity to provide financial support for the newly expanded facilities set to open in the spring. The turtles produced by the Surf City Art Guild will first be featured at an opening reception on April 8th at the Art Exposure in Hampstead from 6-8 pm.  They will remain in the Topsail community until September, when they will be auctioned off with the proceeds benefiting the sea turtle hospital.

April will be a busy month on Topsail Island. Both types of turtles (artistic and actual) are scheduled to go on display. The turtles creations from the Surf City Art Guild will start to pop up around the community, and the rehabilitated turtles will be moved into the expanded Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Hospital when it opens its new doors.

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