PEI

Life-sized Lucy Maud Montgomery statue coming to Cavendish Heritage Park

Artists across P.E.I. have submitted their ideas for a statue of Lucy Maud Montgomery at Cavendish Heritage Park.

'We want to recognize her and we want to have people understand how important she is'

Lucy Maud Montgomery
The statue will look like Montgomery when she lived on the Island. (Parks Canada)

Artists across P.E.I. have submitted their designs for a statue of Lucy Maud Montgomery at Cavendish Heritage Park. 

"Montgomery is a significant author, significant person that brings a lot of people to Prince Edward Island," said Linda Lowther, chair of the Heritage Park and Lucy Maud Montgomery Destination Development Committee.

The winning artist will be awarded $5,000 for their design of the statue. 

In dreaming up their individual interpretations for the project, artists were bound to specific parameters laid out by the committee. The statue had to be life-sized or bigger and must look like the author during the period of time she lived on the Island.

For Lowther, the hope is that the statue will be meaningful to visiting tourists and Islanders alike.

The statue will be made of bronze and will cost between $75,000 and $100,000 to make.

Recognizing Montgomery 

A large committee — including Montgomery's heirs — will meet and review the submissions, said Lowther.

Fundraising for the project is still going on but the committee hopes to see the statue unveiled by June 2019.

The project will need the co-operation of different partners on the Island, including the Resort Municipality that owns the park, said Lowther.

"We want to recognize her and we want to have people understand how important she is to our province," said Lowther.

Artist submissions for the project closed on Monday. 

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With files from Island Morning