The news from downtown Stillwater, Wednesday morning: A dragonfly landed on North Main Street, a chokecherry tree was planted on the pedestrian plaza near Lowell Park, and two ballerinas twirled down South Main Street.

“This is gorgeous. Very, very nice,” said Stillwater Township resident Patricia Graham, as she and her short-haired fox terrier Miles walked past “Chokecherry Tree” by Hastings artist Dale Lewis. The sculpture, made of rebar, forks, spoons and red marbles, is for sale for $12,000.

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Graham said she couldn’t wait to see the nine other sculptures being installed as part of the city’s new River City Sculpture Tour.

The sculptures will be on display for a year, and passers-by will vote on their favorites. Supporters will raise money to purchase the top vote-getter and have it put on permanent display, said artist Julie Pangallo, the tour’s founder and organizer. If all goes well, another 10 sculptures will go on display next summer.

“It’s free public art; that’s the beauty of it,” said Pangallo, who lives in Menomonie, Wis. “It’s accessible to everyone.”

Pangallo likened finding places to install the 10 huge sculptures and their limestone bases to playing Jenga on a giant scale.

“You have to figure out what will fit where, and what will fit on each pedestal,” Pangallo said as she oversaw the installation of “Lucky Dragonfly Gong” by artist Dan Massopust outside Studio One Yoga on North Main Street.

“You have to make sure that the space is right, that the pedestal is safe, and that no one is going to get hurt or walk into a sharp object, things like that,” she said.

Pangallo said she was careful not to place any fragile pieces near any of the bars in town.

Artist Lewis said he appreciated the placement of his “Chokecherry Tree” on the pedestrian plaza.

“I like how it’s up in the air,” he said. “It looks great. It always helps when it’s in the sun when you’re using stainless-steel silverware.”

Lewis also constructed “Trapped,” a depiction of a wolf, which is on display near P.D. Pappy’s.

The River City Sculpture Tour will also include sculptures on display in Hastings and Prescott, Wis., Pangallo said.

“The program is intended to expand,” said Pangallo, who ran Eau Claire’s sculpture tour last year. “My goal is to have original sculpture from St. Croix Falls (Wis.) down to La Crosse (Wis.), so people can spend a fun weekend enjoying art on the river.”

Art enthusiasts from Osceola, Wis., Marine on St. Croix, Red Wing and La Crosse have expressed interest in having the art in their cities, she said.

“There are wonderful sculpture tours around the country, but as far as I know, this is the only multi-city tour,” Pangallo said. “It’s a great way to promote the artists of our region, as well as drive tourism and commerce.”

The sculptors featured on this year’s tour are from Minnesota and Wisconsin; they receive stipends for temporary use of the pieces and are eligible to win cash awards, Pangallo said. The program is funded mostly by corporate sponsorships; it also won $5,000 in the Stillwater Area Foundation’s Great Ideas competition.

“We have fabulous talent in our region, and I’m excited to promote that,” Pangallo said. “We did a wide search, but we have so much talent here … we were able to use regional artists.”

The sculptures range in price from $2,000 to $19,000, she said.

Studio One Yoga’s Dariush Moslemi said he was happy to see “Lucky Dragonfly Gong,” which is made of rusted steel and a traffic light, being installed outside his business.

“At first, I thought it was a big mosquito,” Moslemi said. “It’s an honor to have a big piece right outside our spot. It’s going to be a great draw, and a dragonfly is, historically, a beautiful creature.”

At the base of the Stillwater Lift Bridge, a giant steel moose by Stillwater artist John Hughes has been erected.

Hughes volunteered Wednesday to help install the rest of the works of art. He also made and installed the metal signs on each pedestal; the pedestals are large chunks of city-owned limestone excavated from previous public-works projects.

“I’m doing it to try and help bring artists here,” Hughes said. “They need a platform to show their work. I’m really excited about it.”

Tim and Megan Palm, owners of the Daily Grind Coffee Shop, were delighted to see the “Chokecherry Tree” installed right outside their shop Wednesday morning.

“We’ve been wishing that we had art here, and now suddenly it’s right in front of us, and it’s just beautiful,” Tim Palm said.

Stillwater residents Bob and Alice Peters, who were out walking in downtown, had found three of the sculptures by 11 a.m. Wednesday and were looking for more. Maps of the sculpture tour should be available by the end of the month, Pangallo said.

“Of the ones we’ve seen, I’ve been struck by the inventiveness of the sculptor,” Alice Peters said.

“It’s a good fit for Stillwater because of the local galleries, local artists and art fair,” Bob Peters said. “It makes it a more interesting place.”

For more information: Contact RiverCitySculptures@gmail.com