As the community begins thinking about springtime and planting flowers, the City of Warsaw and Lakeland Art Association is offering a way to unite the community. An exhibit known as “Walk-n-Wander Warsaw” this summer in downtown Warsaw will include a collection of life-size bronze sculptures placed within walking distance of the courthouse square to form an “outdoor gallery.” The exhibit will kick off at Warsaw’s June 6 First Friday and will include a patriotic program by the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars commemorating the 70th anniversary of D-Day at the end of World War II. Each First Friday in 2014 will focus around the arts, with different performances and activities featured each month. In conjunction with the sculpture exhibit, Anderson Greenhouse will be creating a unified look in all of the downtown flower beds and city parks with plants and flowers in plum, yellow and copper colors. Businesses and residents are invited to incorporate these colors with their spring plantings to form a cohesive splash of color throughout the county. Anyone interested in using this color theme can simply ask for the “Wander Warsaw Combo” at Anderson Greenhouse or Open Air Garden Center. The selected plants are suitable for shade and sun. Seward Johnson is considered by many to be one of the most popular, widely seen contemporary sculptors in the United States, according to a press release from the mayor’s office. Johnson turned his painting talents to the medium of sculpture in 1968. Since then, more than 250 of his life-size bronze figures have been featured in private collections throughout the world and in public places such as Rockefeller Center in New York City. For more information about the plant color theme, contact Paula Bowman at 574-376-0233 or ffpaula@comcast.net
