Whirligig Innovation Zone
“Get in the zone” by exploring
everything happening on the street & in the Whirligig Repair & Conservation Headquarters!
What exactly is a whirligig and how does it whirl?
Why do we celebrate whirligigs in Wilson?
Visit the Whirligig Repair & Conservation Headquarters on Douglas Street and find out! Here you will see Vollis’ whirligigs up-close and personal. Watch experts repair these whimsical works of art & engineering and learn more about Vollis Simpson, his kinetic sculptures, and the Vollis Simpson Whirligig Park Project through Original Whirligig Exploration.
Elkland Art Puppetry - (Saturday only)
Elkland puppet shows express concerns for the environment, our history and culture and are aimed always towards education and joy. Join the Puppetry masters as they help you create a puppet of your own. Then, you and your new puppet are invited to join the Whirligig Parade on Saturday at 4 pm.
Scrap Exchange - (Saturday only)
Come make your own unique creations, sculptures, and inventions with all sorts of scrap materials, from metal, to buttons, to paper, to wood, to beads, and more – the sky is the limit: On Douglas Street.
Participatory Sidewalk Chalking -
Help us decorate the pavement on Douglas Street with Marvel Comic Book artist Lewis Small & friends: On Douglas Street.
Whirligig Parade -
Join us at 4 pm on Saturday for a parade of Wilson County 4th Graders whom have all made their own whirligig out of recycle 2 liter bottles. The kids will parade thru the entire festival, to the future Whirligig Park where they will install their creations and then end at the conservation warehouse.
Merchant Village -
Downtown businesses sell their wares: On Douglas Street.
Whirligig Repair & Conservation Headquarters:
(on the corner of Douglas & Barnes Streets):
· Original Whirligig Exploration: View various Vollis Simpson’s whirligigs up-close & personal, see how they work, watch them being repaired by experts, & go on a self guided tour of the headquarters
· Headlight Gallery: experience the whirligigs “at night” with their incredible reflective surfaces, as many visitors to Vollis’ farm have over the years
· Whirligig Cinema: Take a break and watch some short films on whirligigs, Vollis Simpson, & the Vollis Simpson Whirligig Park Project
