DORVAL — It wasn’t intended to be a tourist attraction, but that’s exactly what a new outdoor Dorval exhibit has become.
Two new animal sculpture displays made of Spanish moss and plants have been installed on Lakeshore Road, just east of Dorval Avenue.
The animal replicas have two different themes: a tropical park of exotic animals such as giraffes, flamingos and a chimpanzee, and a more traditional farm with a cow, dogs, a rabbit and ponies.
The animals are life-like in size.
“The cow spoke to me,” Allan Nicholls, visiting from Vermont, told Global News.
“Well he didn’t speak to me, but he wanted to speak to me.”
The two displays are the brainchild of local business community leaders who wanted to do something to give back to their customers.
“Our idea was to find something that would bring us together and businesses and the city,” Julie Cardinal, president of the Dorval Main Streets Business Association, told Global News.
Creating the project cost the business community $16,000, and the City of Dorval will help pay for maintaining the sculptures and plants throughout the summer.
While the displays are only a few days old, organizers are already thinking about the future.
“This is really year one and we’re planning to do it next year on a larger scale if possible,” Béatrice Cuzzi, the association’s communications director told Global News.