Bearfest icon defaced

One of the iconic and ubiquitous bears featured across Wrangell during the Bearfest celebration was recently defaced with purple paint at City Dock, requiring skillful touchup from local artists. Members of the Wrangell Art Gallery whimsically decorated the bear, shown above, last month.

Liz Wolford, a volunteer with the gallery, said she was happy to see efforts to save the bear’s joyful, original paint job.

“I’d like to thank the folks from the Wrangell Art Gallery who spent their time, talent and effort on the bear we’ve seen sitting in front of the Wrangell Museum and most recently, the city dock,” Wolford said. It is unfortunate that recently somebody decided to pour purple paint down the front of this bear, somewhat marring its jolly appearance. Nonetheless, we are still grateful to the folks who dedicated their efforts to this happy little bear who has become a bit of an icon in town.”

There is no word from organizers of Bearfest when the bear will make a reappearance in town.