By Geoff Hilton
The ingredients for this creative concoction are paint, fiberglass and wings. Whoa. Definitely not a recipe you’ll find in any cookbooks by Emeril Lagasse, Wolfgang Puck or Martha Stewart. Where will you find these diverse elements coming together? Just be on the lookout next year for various locations throughout these barrier islands that will proudly display one of 100 painted fiberglass “winged horses.” What’s with all this “horse play,” you say? Some kind of “flight” of fancy? Actually, it’s a not-for-profit endeavor designed to send area spirits soaring with pride as the 2003 Centennial Celebration of the “first powered flight in a heavier-than-air machine” draws closer. So, if Regis Philbin ever asks you when the Wright brothers made aviation history on the sand dunes of Kill Devil Hills, tell him: “December 1903, and that’s my final answer.”
Painting and Pegasus: Perfect Together While driving back through Norfolk, Virginia from a recent business trip, Outer Banks Press President Linda Lauby noticed the city’s popular “Mermaids on Parade” exhibit and thought: “Why not come up with our own special event for The Outer Banks to coincide with the 2003 Centennial Celebration?”
Linda, who appropriately happens to be a Kitty Hawk resident, thought that another spirited Outer Banks symbol – the roaming wild horses that survived the islands’ “Graveyard of the Atlantic” shipwreck history – would combine nicely with flight to form a unifying source of area pride. “The ‘equus above us’ theme just seems perfect for The Outer Banks,” says Linda. “Not only does Pegasus – the winged horse of Greek myth – embody the obvious combination of horse and flight, but Pegasus is also a constellation – and purported to be the source of poetic inspiration. Norfolk may have its mermaids, and Chicago and Zurich, Switzerland have had their ‘Cows on Parade’ exhibits, but now we’ve got our own ‘uplifting’ symbol to help get the Centennial Celebration off the ground.” The formal marketing plan will be introduced this summer, and the 100 unpainted white fiberglass horses should be available for purchase in early 2002.
“We want to generate excitement for this once-in-a-lifetime project among artists, business people, visitors and the general population,” says Linda. “To have these winged horses on display at sites all along the Outer Banks is really going to be a marvelous sight. And, all of the decorated horses will eventually be returned to one location for the culmination of this effort: our December 2003 charitable auction.”
Proceeds Destined for Area Charities When individuals or organizations decide to sponsor a horse, they may then choose their own artist, or Outer Banks Press can suggest an artist from a list of area participants. Sponsors have the option of putting the colorful horses on display at their place of business, or arranging for them to be placed in alternate Outer Banks “stables” to be determined. However, as the curtain closes on 2003, all of the horses will go up for bid at the “100 Winged Horses” charitable auction. During the auction, all of the previous sponsors are certainly encouraged to “permanently” purchase their painted horses if they wish to do so. Leading up to the auction, sponsorship benefits include advertising on many levels and the ability to support a worthwhile cause, plus invitations to receptions, and a tax deduction. Sponsors have the opportunity to display original artwork at their place of business, which will be visited by the many people touring the exhibit. “The spirit of this event is to merge art and commerce in a visual celebration of the 100-year anniversary of man’s first powered flight,” says Linda. Along with organizing the event and generating the publicity surrounding the installation and auction, Outer Banks Press plans to commemorate the event by publishing a full-color book of all 100 horses — mentioning the artists and sponsors — to be sold as a special memento. Visitors will also be able to take a “virtual tour” of the exhibit through the Outer Banks Press web site, www.outerbankspress.com. Steve Alterman, the photographer responsible for the last two covers of The Edge, has agreed to shoot the photos for this keepsake book.
Look for more details about how to purchase one or more of these horses in upcoming press releases and articles/advertisements within Outer Banks Press publications. The web site www.outerbankspress.com, with links to ICARUS International and other aviation-related sites, will also provide news updates – including artist/sponsorship information. “Call, write or send an e-mail,” says Linda. “We’d love to hear from anyone interested in helping us ensure that this exciting project realizes its full potential.”
Perhaps even the spirit of nineteenth-century English poet and essayist Matthew Arnold will be felt in The Outer Banks throughout the coming months. After all, he penned The Forsaken Merman:
Now the great winds shorewards blow; Now the salt tides seawards flow; Now the wild white horses play, Champ and chafe and toss in the spray.