Mike Westra Sculpture

Sculpture installed on Grand Haven's boardwalk; dedication at noon Saturday

Residents and visitors to Grand Haven will be greeted to a new sight when they take a walk along the waterfront - a 30-foot-tall kinetic wind sculpture.

The Mike Westra-designed wind sculpture is located on the boardwalk, between Snug Harbor Restaurant and the Riverview shops.

"About six months ago, he had a real interesting idea for a waterfront wind sculpture and we immediately took interest," said Steve Loftis, owner of Snug Harbor Restaurant. "He is really well-known in the area and very talented."

Westra's sculpture uses old traffic signal posts from the Washington Avenue area that were removed in conjunction with the installation of the city's snowmelt system.

"He put plans together - and, the next thing you know, we had a lot of interest from our local foundations and others, and it's become a real community project," Loftis said.

Loftis said there has been a lot of community support - ranging from the North Ottawa Community Health System and Grand Haven Area Community Foundation to local businesses such as Great Lakes Contracting, Advanced Signs, Greg Oleszczuk and Denny Dryer.

"We've had so much help from the community and community businesses," Loftis said.

Westra designs are no stranger to those in the West Michigan community. The Grand Haven man was one of the top 10 finalists from the 2009 ArtPrize competition in Grand Rapids and he was one of the winners in the inaugural Grand Haven ArtWalk. He also has a piece on display in the Grand Haven Community Center.

Joining the new "Water's Edge" sculpture on the boardwalk, the new art pieces are helping to raise art awareness and the conversation about art in Grand Haven, Loftis said.

"It really helps add to the social fabric to the whole community," Loftis said. "If the enthusiasm from the grade schools is any measure of what we're doing here, then we're on a good path to raising the cultural awareness of the community."

There are also plans to have a contest that people can enter their name for the wind sculpture. Loftis said more information about that contest will come out in the coming days.

"We'll select a winner in the next months, more than likely, and go from there," Loftis said.