CRANE MIGRATION SPURS CREATIVITY
		Each year in late February, about 200,000 Sandhill cranes trek north so they can enjoy the weather along a 150-mile stretch of the Platte riverbank. To celebrate this influx, the Kearney Dawn Rotary Club is sponsoring "Cranes on Parade." Nationally renowned artist and Kearney resident Martha Pettigrew sculpted a crane specifically for the occasion. The crane was mass duplicated and cast in fiberglass so local, regional and national artists could add their specific creative efforts to the process. Twenty of the cranes are now on display at the Capitol.
Photo by Alyssa Schukar/DN Sheryl Lindau, a member of the Nebraska State College System Board of Trustees, examines Brad Norton's "Kearney History Crane," sponsored by the Kearney Hub, in the Capitol on Monday. Twenty cranes are on display as part of a celebration of the annual migration of the Sandhill crane entitled "Cranes on Parade."
By Jeremy Buckley

The replications were produced by Prewitt Fiberglass Animals of Kearney. The owner of Prewitt, Charlie Spencer, said the idea had been tried in other cities and worked successfully.

"I think it's nice to be able to see the artwork out on the street where more people can see them than in a museum," Spencer said.

Pat Jones was in charge of bringing together the artists who wanted to contribute to the project.

"We allowed each artist to enter up to three designs, then there was a jury process to narrow the selections down because we wanted to include as many artists as possible," Jones said.

"I think it's an exciting project because it's so accessible. It's a public art project set up so people can see and touch the sculptures."

In total, 31 designs were chosen from 29 different artists.

Sandhill cranes customarily spend their winters in more moderately temperate locales such as Texas, Southern California, Arizona and Mexico.

When late February arrives, the cranes crowd the Platte River bottoms between Grand Island and Sutherland to feed.

Scientific evidence suggests the Sandhill crane has been part of Nebraska's fauna for more than 10 million years.

The sculptures will be on display throughout the state until October when they will be auctioned off. The proceeds will benefit community projects and charities local to Kearney.