Tavares, FL - August 11, 2011 - Tavares city officials announced today a new "Art in the Lake" program which will feature a new 12 foot high sculpture called the "Grand Mermaid" in Lake Dora in the front of Al's Landing Restaurant.
We floated a new $3-million bond issue, so we thought, instead of using it for sidewalks or train tracks, why not? says an official.
Kayaker's will use it as a boundary in new Kayak races between Mt. Dora and Tavares. "We will show up those &*&^(%$# Dragon Boats..." said one Kayaker.
A city spokesperson said "We need a UNIQUE, singular image for the City, and Seaplanes aren't it. We need an image that only one city would dare to have - a mermaid in the water."
The sculpture, currently residing in Hamburg, Germany, will be shipped via Taiwan and then to Tavares during a city officials' "business development" trip which will only cost taxpayers $143,000. Last year, they visited Taiwan, but have a more ambitious program this year.
Of course, none of this might be true, or Lauren Richie would have already written an expose on it, but knowing the Tavares city officials who like to work on the "next big thing", you never know... if Apopka doesn't kick in money to help subsidize that new train track, then what next?
Here are more pictures... it really does exist in Germany, and is being removed tomorrow, so maybe Eustis might go for it.
http://usa.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2011-08/04/content_13052331.htm
vj
