MIDDLEBURY – Some familiar faces are welcoming visitors to Essenhaus this fall.
Campus leaders have partnered with Goshen artist Josh Cooper to turn bales of straw into larger-than-life replicas of Buzz Lightyear and friends from the popular Toy Story movie series. The characters will be on display at Essenhaus through early November as part of the La Grange County Visitors Bureau’s Autumn Adventure Straw Bale Art Trail, which features 39 stops in all.
“Participating allows local businesses to work together to create a community event,” said Essenhaus Events Coordinator Angela Miller. “It’s exciting to see the enthusiasm in families as they create new traditions in the fall.”
It’s the second year for the trail, and the second time Cooper has worked with the team at Essenhaus to bring a beloved children’s movie character to life. He also helped craft the campus’ inaugural straw bale art display of Mater from the Disney/Pixar Cars films.
“Watching the talent in Josh has been impressive,” said Miller. “He is great at rising to the challenges we give him, and it is amazing to see our ideas come to life!”
Downloadable maps of the Autumn Adventure Straw Bale Art Trail are available at visitshipshewana.org, where you can submit a photo to vote for your favorite display. Voting continues through Nov. 2 and can also be completed by posting your photo on Facebook or Instagram with #AutumnAdventure25 and tagging VisitShipshewana.
