Witness the installation of Lakebone, a monumental new public sculpture on Burlington's Main St. by local artist Nancy Winship Milliken. Join BCA and artist Nancy Winship Milliken to celebrate public art in motion and experience the transformation of a Burlington street into a living moment of art, infrastructure, ecology, and community. 

On the morning of June 3, a monumental 48-foot-long Black Locust tree will travel through downtown Burlington in a festive public procession led by local musicians and community partners. The procession will begin near the corner of Main Street and Battery Street and continue to the sculpture’s permanent installation site at 100-110 Main Street, just east of Pine Street. Beginning at the waterfront rail line, the sculpture will make its way up Main Street accompanied by cranes, rigging crews, heavy equipment, and the collective energy of the community helping usher in Burlington’s newest public artwork. 

Residents, artists, families, students, and visitors are invited to walk alongside the sculpture starting at the corner of Main Street and Battery Street and witness the remarkable moment as Lakebone is lifted into place and “takes root” in the heart of the city. 

Lakebone is a work that tells two stories and connects Burlington’s past and future through the story of wood, water, and healthy ecosystems across the landscape. The work references the city’s long history as a lumber and rail hub while also drawing attention to the ecological importance of forests, floodplains, and watershed stewardship throughout the Lake Champlain Basin. 

By returning a tree to the city by rail, the artist poetically reverses the historic flow of timber out of Burlington at the turn of the last century. When completed, the work will be suspended above a native pollinator meadow designed in collaboration with Bee the Change, and will invite viewers to reflect on the interconnected systems that sustain both urban and natural environments. 

Join us rain or shine to welcome what will become a landmark piece of public art to Burlington.