Lindsborg — This central-Kansas community's herd of pony-sized fiberglass Dala horses has been corralled for the winter in a vacant former dry-cleaning shop.
A crowd of about 200 watched the first-ever "Wild Dala Roundup" Saturday. The 21 brightly decorated Dalas with names like "Fala the Dala Brick Road" and "Salvador Dala" were placed on wheeled platforms and rolled single file down the city's main street. The procession was led by a Nordic warrior wielding a sword.
They will re-emerge and be returned to their display locations around the community on the day before Palm Sunday, following a "Singing out the Dalas" ceremony.
While displays of fiberglass cows may be fine for cities like Kansas City and Chicago, Lindsborg has drawn on its Swedish heritage for its "Search for the Wild Dala" public art exhibit.
Dala horses are a form of folk art a bright red-orange wooden horse that originated in the Dalarna province of Sweden. The story goes that after a long day of work, Swedish lumberjacks would often relax by carving figures from wood. A popular choice was a horse.
Today you'll find Dalas hanging from porches and lamp posts all over Lindsborg, often with the name of the homeowner or the word "Valkommen," the Swedish word for welcome.
Artists and volunteers in Lindsborg, population 3,200, created the herd this past year in whimsical designs. Saturday marked the first time the entire herd could be seen and photographed together.
Two of the Dalas were missing. "Dialing for Dreams" fell prey to vandalism, while "Queen Katarina Ditto," carved from solid wood, was too heavy to move from her post at Lindsborg State Bank.
"I think when the (promotion) started, we didn't know how people would respond locally," said Kathy Richardson, one of those who helped get the project going.
But community interest remains strong, she said, and another five or six Dalas could be added to the herd this year. Richardson and her husband sponsored the "Dalallama Telecomma" a wild Dala decorated in bright colors with giant telephone handsets, commas and Tibetan themes.
"It's gone all kind of directions we never anticipated," she said. "It's created a community warmth. It's gotten people together in new ways. People see the fun, whether you live here or visit here. And they go with it."
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