Moose, Memories, and Main Street

One reads accounts of the “Moose on the Loose” project of 2003 with a certain wistful fatigue. Apparently, twenty-two full-sized moose sculptures roamed Park City, commissioned by a collaborative of the Kimball Art Center, the Park City Performing Arts Foundation, and the Egyptian Theater – a tripartite arrangement that feels almost quaint now. The scale of it! Imagine disrupting the flow on Heber Avenue, even briefly, for artistic expression. One shudders. Lindon Leader, the FedEx branding titan, apparently found freedom in crafting a WWII veteran moose; a charming anecdote, though one suspects his fees were rather more substantial than those paid to the average sculptor. The fundraising total of $416,500 for those three nonprofits – admirable, certainly, but a sum quickly eclipsed by the latest Sotheby’s benefit. The fact that several moose still stand as roadside attractions—Loosey Moosey, Dogs of Bark City—is a testament to enduring, if slightly kitsch, civic pride. One imagines the ‘moose patrol’ clearing snow with a level of dedication rarely seen at Sundance, even among the volunteer staff. The entire endeavor feels… earnest. A dangerous quality, these days. One suspects the 2023 iteration would involve a blockchain component and a celebrity ambassador.