The Hot Springs Parks and Trails Department and Hot Springs Arts Advisory Committee will dedicate "The Indian and Maiden" sculptures along with the Monarch Butterfly Garden on Thursday at noon. The event will be held along the Hot Springs Creek Greenway Trail at Runyon and Valley Streets, and the public is welcome to attend.
Local artist John Mark Baker of Baker's Fabrication and Welding of Glenwood, AR, created the Indian and Maiden in honor of his parents. When the Hot Springs Arts Advisory Committee purchased the "Maiden" at the 2017 UpCycle Sculpture Festival, the Bakers decided to donate "The Indian" so that the two sculptures would be placed together.
The nearby Monarch Butterfly Garden was constructed by Parks and Trails with assistance from the Diamond Lakes Chapter of the Arkansas Master Naturalists and the Garland County Master Gardeners to provide native habitat for the Monarch butterfly, currently being considered for the Endangered Species list. Three butterfly sculptures created by local artists Lee Fields and Laura Blue Water, Tri Lakes Ornamental Iron Works, were donated to beautify the garden.