The Westport Arts Advisory Committee (WAAC) announces the celebration of Egrets, a laser-cut stainless-steel sculpture loaned to the Town of Westport by nationally recognized Redding artist Babette Bloch.

The event will take place this Saturday, May 31st, at 4 p.m. at Canal Green, located at Kings Highway North & Canal Street and is free and open to the public.

Sitting upon a heightened base for better viewing, and surrounded by natural grasses, Egrets captures a graceful moment of birds in repose and flight.

“Egrets was created in celebration of the joyous lyricism of birds,” Bloch notes. “Actively interacting with the landscape, reflecting colors that shift with daylight and clouds.”

Bloch’s sculptures appear in the permanent collections of Brookgreen Gardens in South Carolina, the Orlando Museum of Art in Florida, and the B’nai B’rith Klutznick National Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C., among others, and in numerous private collections. Egrets was last installed as part of New Jersey’s Laurelwood Arboretum Sculpture Trail.

Saturday’s celebration will include remarks by Bloch, Parks and Recreation Commission Chair David Floyd, Town Curator Kathie Bennewitz; and Westport Poet Laureate Donna Disch. Music will be provided by Westport singer/songwriter Suzanne Sheridan. Refreshments will be served.

Egrets is part of WAAC’s “Sculpture in the Parks” initiative, launched in cooperation with Westport’s Park and Recreation Department. To date, other sculptures WAAC has installed in town include Rock Paper Scissors (Kevin Box – Jesup Green;) Passage (Niki Ketchman – Pasacreta Park;) and Tulip Bulb (Emily Teall – Grace K. Salmon Park.) Coming next will be Norwalk sculptor Marc Zaref’s Ensos (Eloise Ray Park.)

The Westport Arts Advisory Committee, appointed by the First Selectwoman, advises on preserving Westport’s legacy as an arts community, overseeing the Town Art Collection (WestPAC), and promoting arts visibility in the community. http://westportarts.org