A full 40 years after her unveiling, Lesia, Canora’s welcome statue, is being re-painted.
Located on the south end of Norway Road, the entire statue is being painted by Brandi Zavislak, community development officer.
“The podium will be freshly restored, as will all of the welcome signs on the podium,” said Zavislak. “The public works department will be constructing a raised timber flowerbed in front of Lesia this fall. A concrete sitting bench will be moved close to the statue for people to sit and rest while enjoying the statue.”
The funding for the project came from the tourism and planning budget.
“However it is very cost efficient as I am painting it,” said Zavislak. “Hiring a professional to do this project would have cost a lot more money. The money we are saving will go towards the timber-framed flowerbed that the public works department is building.”
Lesia is a 15-foot statue of a woman dressed in traditional Ukrainian attire, according to information from the Town of Canora website. Lesia holds a loaf of braided bread known as kolach along with salt, which are symbols of welcome in the Ukrainian culture. Lesia was created by Canora resident Nicholas P. Lewchuk and his son Orest. The statue was unveiled on September 3, 1980 by Right Honourable Edward Schreyer, Governor General of Canada. Construction of Lesia took over a year and she weighs over 4,000 pounds, concluded the information.
