The 101 Herky On Parade statues adorning the streets of Johnson County will begin being removed on August 26. The entire collection will be on display one final time at FRYfest, inside the Coralville Hyatt Regency Hotel and Conference Center on Friday, August 30. Following FRYfest, sponsors who purchased a statue will take private ownership of it. However, 20 statues will be available for purchase via an online silent auction. Bidding may start at 10:00 am on Friday, August 23 and ends at noon on Friday, September 6.
“Proceeds from the silent auction will benefit the art programs in the Iowa City and Clear Creek Amana school districts,” said Josh Schamberger, President of Think Iowa City and organizer of Herky On Parade. “Herky On Parade is the largest participatory public art event in the state of Iowa. It is only fitting that our local art programs will benefit from the strength and popularity of Herky the Hawk.”
While the public display comes to an end, organizers say there are still ways to enjoy the work of Herky On Parade. The National Bobblehead Hall of Fame is creating 26 bobblehead versions that are available for preorder via the Herky On Parade website. Similarly, Panini America and Donruss have produced a series of trading cards of each statue. Posters are available at the Think Iowa City offices in Coralville.
“The memories that families make while visiting all of the Herkys will last a lifetime,” added Schamberger. “We are so proud of the collaboration our cities, schools, county, sponsors, and the University of Iowa have with our artists to make this as great as it can be.”
To place bids on statues, click here.
For questions or additional information about the auction, please call (319) 337-6592.
Herky on Parade is a cooperative effort between the University of Iowa Department of Athletics, the Cities of Iowa City, Coralville, North Liberty, Solon, Tiffin, Think Iowa City and Iowa City Area Sports Commission.
