Art of Olympic Proportion - Renowned Designer Partners with Richmond Cranberry Growers to Create Show Stopping River Display

LAKEVILLE-MIDDLEBORO, Mass., Jan. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Stephen Stefanou, creator of some of the world's most prominent and largest artistic displays, has teamed with Richmond cranberry growers to create a stunning river display for the City of Richmond, a Venue City for the 2010 Winter Games.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100113/NE36831-a )

Using a river as his canvas and 30,000 thousand pounds of cranberries as inspiration, Stefanou's installation will float on the Fraser River in front of the Richmond Olympic Oval, widely regarded as the "crown jewel" of the Olympic Games and home of the 2010 speed skating competitions.

The display, made entirely from locally grown cranberries, will depict the Canadian Olympic Committee logo using the region's largest agricultural crop, the cranberry. The Venue City is one of the largest producers of cranberries in Canada and home to more than 60 family-owned farms, the majority of which belong to the Ocean Spray Cooperative.  

Stefanou's installation is a part of the Richmond Revealed program, a series of events and public art displays designed to showcase the city's thriving industries and dynamic culture.

"My team and I have been designing artistic displays around the world for more than thirty years. This is the largest and most complex project we have ever undertaken," said Stephen Stefanou, president and design director of Design Solutions. "Using a tiny fruit like the cranberry to create something so massive and beautiful is totally unique. Nothing like this has ever been created in the world."

Key Stats

The display will feature each detail of the Canadian Olympic Committee's Logo including the Olympic rings, a maple leaf and flame.

• 13 million – the number of locally grown cranberries used to create the installation
• 46,000 sq. feet – the size of the parameter in which the cranberries will float in front of the Richmond Olympic Oval
• 5,000 feet – the distance from which the installation can be observed from the ground up
• 550 – the number of times the cranberries from the installation could wrap around the Richmond Olympic Oval's speed skating track if strung together

"Richmond is the heart of Canada's Cranberry Country and we want the world to know it," said Lisa May, a third generation Richmond Ocean Spray cranberry grower. "More people worldwide are discovering the taste, versatility and health offered by the cranberry. This is a unique opportunity to educate people about where cranberries come from, and to create something beautiful and inspirational."

Stefanou's cranberry installation will be held in place by a massive custom-made system of pontoons and nets which will be secured with specially designed anchors. The entire installation will be recycled at the conclusion of the Winter Games.

"In the autumn, travelers flying into the Vancouver airport are treated to stunning seas of red as the Richmond farmers flood their cranberry bogs to harvest the fruit," added Stefanou.  "This February we're taking what cranberries do best – float, and using them to create a visual masterpiece to welcome the world to Richmond."

More information may be found at: www.richmond.ca/richmondrevealed,

www.oceanspray.com or www.oceanspray.ca.

About Ocean Spray

Ocean Spray is an agricultural cooperative owned by more than 700 cranberry growers in Massachusetts, Wisconsin, New Jersey, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, and other parts of Canada as well as more than 50 Florida grapefruit growers. Ocean Spray was formed over 75 years ago by three cranberry growers from Massachusetts and New Jersey. Florida grapefruit growers joined the Cooperative in 1976. Ocean Spray is North America's leading producer of canned and bottled juices and juice drinks, and has been the best-selling brand name in the canned and bottled juice category since 1981. Ocean Spray posted fiscal 2009 sales of $2 billion.

SOURCE Ocean Spray