It’s pretty cool to see all the photos of this sculpture that was built in 2010 at Bend Riverbend Park. Many paddlers come from all areas to launch at this park and I often see photos of the sculpture on social posts. It’s kind of a polarizing bit of art here in this town. Some don’t dig that it is branded product and/or a waste of good materials/kayaks. But, everyone knows where it is so it’s real easy to give directions when meeting at the park. “Go under the kayak sculpture and meet you at the parking lot” is said often around here. 

I had actually stumbled upon the assembly of the statue in 2010 and shared some pics here on one of my old blogs:

http://happypaddlin.blogspot.com/2010/05/heres-new-one.html

Just recently, this sculpture one an award and a spot on a “roundabout calender” and was named “Best Roundabout in the World” in 2024 by a Britain organization that does this kind of thing. It’s now the cover shot on their annual calendar! https://www.centraloregondaily.com/archives/central-oregon-daily/one-roundabout-to-rule-them-all-bend-rab-named-best-in-the-world/article_0fbf9474-6e7b-5723-8a40-e440617e9385.html

At Tumalo Creek Kayak and Canoe’s paddlefestival this year, I took a few minutes to share some of the history of this statue and comment on the models used.

You can learn more about the artist that designed this and other cool sculptures:

https://www.pillowstudios.com/public-art.html