Children armed with sponges and soapy water helped one of Windsor’s largest residents look her best Saturday. Families gathered at the Windsor Sculpture Park for the annual Tembo Wash Day, giving the massive bronze elephant and her two babies a hands-on cleaning. “It’s fun washing the elephants and playing with all the other kids,” said nine-year-old Adalyn St. Onge. “You could wash it so it’s clean and sparkly.” Seven-year-old Birdie Bezaire was equally enthusiastic about the task. “You get to wash Tembo and the babies, and it’s just really fun,” she said. Tembo, created by artist Derrick Stephan Hudson, depicts an African elephant guiding her two young. Its name comes from the Swahili word for elephant. The mother weighs nearly as much as 80 people or six automobiles, making it one of the largest bronze elephant sculptures in the world, according to the City of Windsor. Salina Larocque, the city’s cultural development coordinator for public art, said the event allows families to connect with the sculpture park while learning about the work required to preserve it. “Today is the opportunity where we invite the community out to celebrate the sculpture park and show some love to Tembo,” Larocque said. “These are beautiful, rare pieces. They take a lot of TLC and care in their conservation. While we work on these pieces all year long, today is a special opportunity for children and their families to come out and share in what we do.” Larocque said the goal is to build a lasting connection between residents and the public art displayed across Windsor. “We want the community to fall in love with these works and feel about them the affection that we feel for them,” she said. “We want these children to grow up and work with us and become part of our sculpture park team, or use the space throughout their lives every day.” Although Saturday’s wash put the public to work, Larocque said city staff maintain the outdoor collection year-round, protecting the sculptures from snow, frost, heat, dirt, dust and storms. Tembo is one of more than 30 artworks located in that section of the riverfront sculpture park, with other pieces of public art displayed throughout the city. “Their care is so important to give them the respect that they need and to preserve them for generations to come,” Larocque said. She added Tembo is particularly suited to the family event because its depiction of a mother protecting her babies resonates with children and adults alike. “It’s a work that talks about a mother and her babies and speaks about the environment, about nature and connecting with it,” Larocque said. “There’s something in this work for everyone.” For Aliza Khali and her family, favourable conditions made Saturday an ideal opportunity to attend for the first time. “The weather is not too hot, not too cold. It’s perfect today,” Khali said. “I think it’s early enough in the day. They take naps this way.”
