Plaque to be unveiled on Trotter Fountain Day
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[May 22, 2013]
BLOOMINGTON -- The first Trotter
Fountain Day, celebrating the 102nd anniversary of the dedication of
Bloomington's extraordinary landmark, will be observed with
activities from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. on June 1 in Withers Park, on the
northwest corner of Washington and East streets in downtown
Bloomington. A new plaque at the base of the statute will be
unveiled at 1:30 p.m.
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The ever-popular Two Blokes and a Bus will be there serving gourmet
"street food" from their bright red double-decker bus, and
Funbelievable Balloons will be on hand to make fantastic balloon
animals and objects. Characters in period costumes will include a
portrayer of Georgina Trotter, who will make an appearance from
"beyond the grave," and her arrival will be unique and unexpected,
something both children and adults will enjoy. And a portrayer of
Lorado Taft, who designed and implemented the fountain, will join
the festivities and make the same remarks that the sculptor did back
in 1911.
Bob Moews, superintendent of the Bloomington Parks and Recreation
Department, will describe how the Trotter Fountain will be repaired,
restored and preserved. Bill Kemp, writer and historian, will tell
what it was like to live in Bloomington back in 1911, when the
fountain was dedicated. And Mel Theobald, an American artist and
expert on Taft, will explain "The Significance of Lorado Taft."
Funds for the piece were willed to the city by James Trotter, the
last of the prominent Bloomington family, at his death 1908. The
Trotter Fountain, designed by world-famous sculptor, author and
educator Lorado Taft, was dedicated on May 30, 1911, following a
grand parade, while 20,000 onlookers crowded along East Street and
Washington Street, both of which had been closed for the event.
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At the original dedication of the fountain, representatives of
the city of Bloomington and the Trotter family as well as the
sculptor himself took part in the ceremonies. Honoring that same
concept, Judy Sterns will be one of the aldermen acting on behalf of
Mayor Tari Renner and the city of Bloomington; Barb Lancaster, a
Trotter ancestor, will represent the family; and Mel Theobald will
represent the sculptor at the unveiling of the plaque.
For more information, contact Georgie Borchardt at 217-819-6801
or
trotterfountainproject@gmail.com.
___
Online:
Trotter Fountain website:
http://trotterfountain.wix.com/
trotter-fountain-bloomington
Trotter Fountain Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/TrotterFountainProject
[Text from news
release received from the
Trotter Fountain Project] |