Ewe Bet They’ll Be Flocking to Fullerton

A recent headline in the hometown Fullerton paper at once alarmed and excited:

“Herd of Sheep Headed for Fullerton.”

Thoughts raced. How many sheep? Coming from where? Are they angry?

And more to the point, why Fullerton?

Rest easy. The sheep aren’t angry. They’re not even alive.

But if you live in Fullerton, they are definitely coming to your town this spring and summer--about 40 of them.

That’s because to the question, “What does downtown Fullerton really need?”’ the Chamber of Commerce came up with this answer: life-size, painted fiberglass sheep.

So, starting in about three weeks, the downtown area will be adorned with rams, ewes and lambs standing on the sidewalk--albeit moored in concrete blocks.

The sheep will hark back (silently) to the days of yesteryear when Basque sheepherders actually drove sheep from the area to distant sites. The sheep will highlight “Bastanchury Days” in Fullerton, a brainchild of Chamber honcho Bill Heaton. The sheep will lure hundreds of thousands of sightseers, Heaton says.

And how does he know that? Because the same concept using cows and pigs and other creatures has worked in such places as Chicago and New York, Cincinnati and Buffalo.

If you think you can crack jokes (sheep shots?) at Heaton’s expense, forget it. No one is having more fun with the idea than he.

“It’s an art form,” he says of the painted animals. “It brings kids and families down to the center of town to look at these things. It’s funny. That’s the spirit of the thing.”

For his sheep, he’s rounded up corporate sponsors, some of whom can’t decide which sheep best represents their corporate identity.

Naively, I ask if luring sponsors for glass sheep was a tough sell. “Some people are very visual and love it,” he says. “Other people have no imagination, and I couldn’t sell them on a bet. I don’t take it personally.”

Heaton carefully tells me how the sheep were made, but I don’t understand it. Something about using insulation and plaster to build a solid core, then spraying it with fiberglass to form the mold.

From that, sheep!

Woolgathering at Chamber of Commerce

Only a ewe model (named Dolly) has been created so far, although the unveiling is just around the corner. But 47 artists already have submitted 132 designs, Heaton says.

Each artist will paint his or her design on the sheep-turned-canvas. Entries so far include a Picasso-like design, and a sheep painted with a beret and the French flag and bearing the title, “Baa-Baa Basque Sheep.” Heaton likes another design with the sheep painted with maps and entitled, “Ewe Are Here.”

Folks, that’s sheep humor. If you don’t like it, stay out of Fullerton this summer.

The Dolly clones will be life-size. Dolly herself checks in at a trim and ready 60 inches long and a rear end and head 38 and 48 inches off the ground, respectively. Heaton estimated her weight at 35 pounds.

“We’re only going to do a few lambs,” he says, “because the fun is to have the big things out there. We’ll draw people from all over. Not from Des Moines, but from Anaheim, La Habra and Garden Grove. They’ll hear about the sheep and want to come see them.”

The first sheep will go up in front of chamber headquarters, Heaton says, and all will be up by the end of April. They’ll stay until the end of September.

At which point, I kindly inquire whether he’ll then have 40 fiberglass sheep on his hands.

Obviously lying in wait for that one, Heaton pounced. “I’m so glad you asked,” he says. “In New York, over 550 cows were auctioned over the Internet. The average auction price was $18,000. The highest one was $60,000 for a Tiffany cow.”

While acknowledging that New Yorkers “have got way too much money,” Heaton says he isn’t worried about selling the glass herd.

In fact, he says, he’s even seen such a cow in a Manhattan Beach yard.

I’m sure he meant to say, Manhattan, Kansas.

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Dana Parsons’ column appears Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Readers may reach Parsons by calling (714) 966-7821; by writing to him at The Times’ Orange County edition, 1375 Sunflower Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626; or by e-mail at dana.parsons@latimes.com.