Cows Love a Parade

We first came across the phenomenon of decorated fiberglass city cows on a trip out to Chicago in 1999. That year, over 300 cow statues were placed all around the city to bring delight to tourists and locals alike. After displaying them for the summer, the cows were then taken away and only to be seen again in miniature form in gift shops. The first cow parade was in Zurich in 1998 and the cow craze has been featured all over the world, including New Zealand, Belgium, South Africa, and now Boston starting this week. CowParade Boston kicked off this morning with over 100 cows being placed throughout the city. Through September 5, happy tourists together with jaded Bostonians can enjoy the quirky bovines all summer. Once the exhibition ends, 50 cows will be auctioned off at the Marriott Copley Place on September 21, with the rest of the cows then being herded and sold online. All proceeds from the CowParade Boston will go to the Jimmy Fund.

So what’s the point you may ask? Besides the whole “raising money for a good cause” thing, the cows are all sponsored by local companies who work with a local artist in decorating their designated cow. The artists get exposure and the corporations get some advertising. The sponsor list looked a bit lean in places and it is surprising who chose to partake and who passed (i.e. The Herald but not the Globe, Emack and Bolios but not J.P. Licks…isn’t J.P. Licks all about promoting the cow?!)

And what citywide art installation would be complete without a little blogging? Some of the cow artists are keeping people informed with blogs of their cow decorating process. So, enjoy the parade and let us know if you come across any must-see cows.

Bostonist hasn't been able to photograph the Boston cows just yet due to insanely busy work day, but above are a few of the ones currently on display in Edinburgh, Scotland, courtesy of Flickr user www.theedinburghblog .co.uk