ABOVE: Alex Young-Williams pulls a sheet off of one of 34 hog statues that were unveiled in downtown Fairmont Thursday evening. After the weekend the statues will go to their sponsoring businesses and organizations around the county.

FAIRMONT– The anticipation of many ended Thursday evening as 34 hog statues were finally unveiled in downtown Fairmont. The statues, painted by area artists, will go out to a variety of businesses and organizations throughout Martin County. The project was done by Going Hog Wild in Martin County.

Going Hog Wild started in the summer of 2021 with a goal of drawing attraction and tourism by promoting business, organizations and cities throughout the county, all while paying homage to the pork-producing success in Martin County.

Jeff Rouse, downtown business owner of Our Story Studios, and Alex Young-Williams, a Lead for Minnesota Fellow serving Project 1590 in Fairmont, are two of the driving forces behind the project. They both serve on the Martin County Arts Council.

In late fall 2021, a call was put on for area artists to work on the statues and 16 artists began working on painting them in a warehouse earlier this year. Paint and other supplies were provided through a Prairie Lakes Arts and Cultural Heritage grant, secured by Project 1590. The artists worked with the various businesses and organizations to come up with a design for the statues.

The 2 ft. tall statues sit on a 2ft. platform and weigh nearly 400 pounds. They were manufactured in Kellogg, MN.

On Thursday evening a sheet was lifted and the statues were finally revealed to the public.

People came out in droves to attend the event on W. 1st Street in Fairmont. Nearly 300 people were present. One spectator, Wayne Quade, said that when he rounded the corner he was knocked back.

“I’ve never seen this many people on W. 1st. Street in my life,” he said.

Blake Potthoff emceed the event and announced which artist had painted each hog statue and the business that it was going to. There was then a time for both parties to get a photo taken with the statue.

Pork chops on a stick were available through Martin County Pork Producers and members of the Kids Just Want to Have Fun Committee were selling lemonade and snacks. Minuteman Press also donated pig face masks for children to wear.

Dan Hamlet, a financial advisor with Edward Jones, explained why they decided to get a hog statue for their business.

“It was county pride really. We’re a pork leader in the county and I like the fact that they’ll be spread around the whole county. I think it was a neat idea and a fun project,” Hamlet said.

Some of the other statues were sponsored by St. John Vianney School, CCF Bank, Graffiti Corner, the city of Welcome, Good news Bookstore and D&S Trophies.

Both Rouse and Young-Williams were pleased with the turnout of the event and how well the project went overall.

“It was nice to see the artists and the business together, all while honoring the pork community,” Rouse said.

Part of the original goal of the project was to revitalize Fairmont’s downtown and Young-Williams said that 16 of the statues will be on the downtown blocks. Twenty-eight of the statues will stay in Fairmont and some are going to the cities of Welcome, Sherburn, Northrop and Granada.

The statues will remain on W. 1st Street in Fairmont for viewing through the weekend. After that they’ll move on to their permanent homes.

Rouse’s long-term goal is to see 100 hog statues around the county in the next three years. He said they’ve already had people reaching out and signing up to get a statue in the next round. For more information or to contact Rouse and Young-Williams about a hog, visit goinghogwildinmartincounty.com.