Cowtown!

Once upon a time, back in the early 1900's, Calgary, Alberta was the hub of Alberta's cattle industry.  Affectionately known as "cowtown" throughout Canada, the moniker has remained through to the present day even though most of Calgary's cattle business has moved east to the town of Strathmore. Suddenly, almost overnight, the cows are back.  

On most downtown corners and standing sullen guard in front of glass and concrete office buildings are cows.  They are everywhere the eye turns.  A cow draped in plaid watches over Dakota Saloon, a Jersey in gold foil turns its rear to the entryway of a Bata store, while another, wearing tutu and tiara,  pirouettes gaily in front of the Sheraton down by the river.

No.  They are not real cows but fiberglass likenesses part of Calgary's Udderly Art charity fundraising project..  The project aims to generate artistic creativity and showcases for Alberta artists, bring smiles and chuckles to the faces of children, adults, Calgarians and visitors alike, and raise funds for local charities.  Each cow is owned by a business or group for $5,000(cdn) and is then painted and detailed by a selected artist.  On October 28th, 2000, some of the 200 cows will be auctioned off with the proceeds going to charity.

With the cattle on display throughout Calgary from May to October, the idea originated with citizens in Zurich in 1998. Zurich's bizarre effort captured international media attention and was duplicated in Chicago in 1999.  The group running Calgary's effort began planning their event in September of 1999 and quickly gained support from Calgary's many community-minded corporations.

However, barely 3 weeks into their 6-month grazing period, several cows have already fallen victim to late-night rustlers who have quickly placed their graffiti brands over the legitimate markings. Black spray paint now coats "Eco-Cow" while the most violent attack yet has required hospitalization of Eau Claire Market's "S.T.A.R.S." air ambulance cow to repair its broken rotors and shoulder wound.  "We knew it was just a matter of time," said one frustrated cow-tographer, "There's always someone who has to spoil things for everyone else."  "Udderly ridiculous," quipped another.

Barring these unfortunate occurrences, Udderly Art has already been successful through receiving it's first round of corporate sponsorship dollars and most likely will continue to draw amazed spectators throughout the remainder of their 6-month display period.

Resources
Udderly Art of Calgary

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