Did you make it out to the NC CowParade Round Up at Golden Belt this Saturday?  If so, you were treated to the opportunity to see more than 80 bovine beauties created by local artists and creative teams.  There were sporty cows, botanical cows (like Daisy up there), high-tech cows, hybrid cows that were part cardinal or sock monkey, and cow glitterati.  My vote for “best in show” was the How Now cow (I believe the artists are John Luster and Burritt Benson).

Take a close look at How Now and you’ll find creatures of all sorts hiding among the intricate patterns.  I believe the two ladies in the background of my picture (admiring the cow’s… umm… hind quarters) discovered the kitty cat, just to the right of the bird, and just below the lady bugs.

The “Round Up” was a one-day event exhibiting all the cows in a single location.  Now the “stampede” begins.  Over the next couple of days, the cows will be mooo-ved to new pastures around the greater Triangle, where they will remain until the first week in December.  You’ll find these works of public art on display at American Tobacco Campus in Durham, as well as Golden Belt, on the UNC Chapel Hill campus, in downtown Raleigh, in Raleigh’s North Hills shopping area, and a few other outlying locations.  The CowParade website will have a map with herd locations and should have a link to a smart phone app later this month that will help you locate the herds in their natural habitats.

On January 26, 2013 the cows come home to a Gala Auction, where proceeds will benefit the NC Children’s Hospital.  Until then, they’re free for all to see and enjoy.  I encourage you to seek them out, and to bring along the family.  Kids love interacting with the art (and I think the cows enjoy the attention).

Find more pictures from the “Round Up” here.