December 7 & 8 –  “On the biggest day of the town . . . I am happy to be a part of this unveiling. It is not a piece of art. It is a piece of community spirit. It is not any one person’s effort, the entire community made it happen.” said Middleburg Mayor Littleton. With those words, the beautiful bronze sculpture created by sculptor, Gosksin Carey, was revealed from under its bright red cover.

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Melissa Craig, Chair of the Middleburg Arts Council, welcomed guests gathered in front of the Middleburg Community Center, “From all of us at the Middleburg Arts Council concluding a year of creative collaboration bringing more art and sculpture to the streets of our beloved small town and the chosen subject is one of our most enduring symbols of the town; the fox.” We were blessed to have a teacher and a sculptor and resident artist, Gosksin Carey, she is a member of our Arts Council. She was up to the challenge of creating the fox and poured her heart and soul into this project.”  The sculpture was created at the AiM (Artists in Middleburg) Gallery (Sandy Danielson, Director) and viewed and supported by the community throughout its creative process. “Now, we all get to enjoy this beautiful new sculpture sitting at its new home in front of the Middleburg Community Center with the cooperation and support of Olivia Rogers, Director of the Center,” continued Melissa.

Raising funds to enable the creation was a community effort with private and merchant sponsors. The Arts Council along with the Middleburg Garden Club were major sponsors of this effort.

“This is an emotional moment,” said sculptor Carey. “All of the town of Middleburg people came to support me and everyone has a little part of their emotion of this project. I love this fox. I didn’t know that she was going to get life in Middleburg town. Thank you so much! “ said Ms. Carey.

There was much merriment and enthusiasm on the Community Center steps and grounds. The audience included townspeople as well as festival guests. The entire town was energetic and incredibly friendly. Children, dogs, neighbors, friends, community leaders, merchants, and law enforcement came together in a warm and inviting spirit to support and admire the efforts and the creation of “Middleburg’s mascot.”

The unveiling and early merriment preceded the Middleburg Christmas Parade and was a lovely segway to the rest of the day’s events. Between the unveiling celebration and the parade, it was a shopping and eating kind of day. Blankets were “parked” in their chosen spots while their owners enjoyed the best that Middleburg has to offer – friendship, hospitality, and delicious refreshments.

Up NEXT: Piedmont Singers Perform final Middleburg concert at Emmanuel Episcopal Church on Sunday, December 8. Stay Tuned!