The search for sturgeon will move from the waterways to the roadways of downtown Shawano this weekend.
The Great Sturgeon Search is being billed as a fun-filled scavenger hunt to find 10 sturgeon sculptures hidden around the Shawano downtown area. The search starts Saturday at the annual Jumpin’ June Jamboree.
Sturgeon hunters will be able to pick up clues at The Great Sturgeon Search booth on Main Street. All the sturgeon are “hidden in plain sight,” according to organizers.
The event, modeled after similar projects in Greenville, South Carolina, (Mice on Main) and Hendersonville, North Carolina (Bears of Hendersonville), was the brainchild of the 2015 Leadership Shawano County class. Planning began in October.
“The goal of the project was to create a fun activity that highlighted something unique to Shawano and created a positive economic impact for downtown businesses,” said Kathleen Ciantar, one of the program’s 14 graduates.
Eddie Sheppard, another graduate of the class and the city’s public works director, said the group wanted to create a unique promotion for the downtown.
“It feels great to do this, and the businesses were supportive of everything,” Sheppard said.
Businesses were not the only ones who got behind the project.
Local artist David Aschenbrener provided the vision for the sculptures, the original wax mold and finishing touches such as coloration, fins and whiskers; Sheppard and the city provided 100 decommissioned brass water meters; Aarrowcast Inc. donated the time, talents and materials to create the mold; and Shawano Community High School trades students melted down the meters to create the brass sculptures — each about 12 inches long.
“The most challenging part of the project was getting the initial mold and determining just how to create the sculptures,” Ciantar said.
Aschenbrener relied on his memories observing the sturgeon run along the Wolf River for inspiration.
“I have been going to the Shawano dam since I was a kid, and it is a neat thing to design since it has not changed in hundreds of years,” Aschenbrener said.
Ten sculptures have been placed; an 11th should be up by the fall.
“We hope that The Great Sturgeon Search will encourage families to talk about the history and importance of the sturgeon in our area while exploring all that the downtown has to offer,” Ciantar said.
For information, visit The Great Sturgeon Search Facebook page.
