Bulldogs Unleashed: Upcoming Events
Batavia has long celebrated its history as the city of windmills, but in recent years a new symbol for pride in community has been making a play for the attention of residents and visitors during the summer months. Bulldogs Unleashed adds a highly artistic flourish to the Batavia High School bulldog mascot. The first Bulldogs Unleashed public art project took place the summer of 2011, raising $75,000 for local charity partners: Batavia Foundation for Educational Excellence, Batavia Parks Foundation, and the Batavia Public Library Foundation. The three partner foundations have teamed up once again for an encore exhibit
Find the Dogs Around Town
More than 30 local artists, including BPS101 staff members and students, submitted designs to the Bulldogs Unleashed committee in 2017. Each offered themes of local landmarks or inspiring creations such as superheroes or patriotic symbols, to name a few. Following the approval process, committee members secured sponsors for each of the Bulldogs while the artists went to work over a six- to eight-week period creating their bulldog masterpieces. The 30 bulldog masterpieces were revealed to the community on June 10 as part of the Batavia Flag Day celebration. The 27 30-inch fiberglass bulldogs and three monster 44-inch bulldogs plus eight legacy bulldogs from 2011 are now positioned around Batavia for the public to view. Maps of the Bulldog locations, listing artists and sponsors, are available at: Batavia City Hall, Batavia Public Library, Batavia Park District, and Batavia Public School District. Also visit the City of Batavia’s online map at http://bit.ly/BulldogsUN to tour the canine collection.
Live Auction and Celebration
After the summer display of the artistic Bulldogs Unleashed bulldogs in downtown Batavia comes to a close, a live auction of 15 of the big dogs will be held be on September 15, 2018, at Shannon Hall, 14 North Van Buren St., Batavia, Ill.
The 30-inch fiberglass dogs, all painted by local artists and seal coated by Batavia-based Boyce Body Werks, Inc., are ready for year-round outdoor or indoor display at your home or business!
Fifteen 30-inch Bulldogs Unleashed fiberglass dogs will be available at the Sept. 15 Bulldogs Unleashed live auction event, including: (top row, from left) Bulldogs Staying Fit by Nona Perry; Collars and Cents by Jason Larsen; Corn Dog by Joshua Schultz; Everyday Hero by Michelle Bach; Faces by Studio IMSA; (middle row, from left) Field of Dreams by BHS National Art Honor Society; Gone for a Swim by Jenna McKnight; I Will Bark for Those Who Cannot Bark for Themselves by Caly Meyers-Mixa; Pieces of the Puzzle by Michelle Bach; Returning Timbers by Kit Sunderland; (bottom row, from left) Rose Mallow by Brandi Timko; Star-Spangled Dog by Dana Parisi; Super Bulldog by Anna Bakker; Time Traveler by Mark Adams; and Zentangle by Houda Alsafadi.
Tickets for the live auction and final Bulldogs Unleashed project celebration are available at www.bulldogsunleashed.org, the official website of Bulldogs Unleashed. All 15 dogs that will be available at the auction can be viewed at www. bulldogsunleashed.org/auction-event. The $65 ticket price includes open bar, live entertainment, and locally catered food and desserts from Fernando’s Street Kitchen, Enticing Cuisine, Ltd., Team FIB BBQ, and Auntie Vee’s.
All proceeds from the event will be donated to three local charity partners: Batavia Foundation for Educational Excellence, Batavia Parks Foundation, and the Batavia Public Library Foundation.
Doors open at 6 p.m. for previewing all of the bulldogs available at auction. Food and beverages will be served at 6:30 p.m., and the auction will start at 8 p.m.
Ten 17-inch tabletop foster dogs are also on display at the following businesses: K. Hollis Jewelers, Funway, Batavia Family Dental, Chapters Coffee House, Beardsgaard Barbers, Urban Style Salon and Spa, All Spoked Up, J DeCarlo Salon and Spa, Kiss the Sky, and The Tea Tree. Raffle tickets can be purchased at any of these locations, Farmers Market Bulldogs Unleashed tent (last Saturday in July and August), Windmill City Fest, and on the Bulldogs Unleashed website. All ten tabletop dogs will be raffled at the September 15 Auction event, but one need not be present to win. Grab a passport at any of the ten locations, get them all stamped, and enter a free raffle to win a Bulldogs basket.
Keep up with Bulldogs Unleashed via Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram as well the website, www.bulldogsunleashed.org.
