Lake Malone State Park has a new tourist attraction to greet park guests — “Big Twigs” — a family of 14-foot larger-than-life wooden sculptures.
In partnership with the Muhlenberg County Tourism Commission, Kentucky State Parks announced Friday afternoon the grand opening of the new attraction “Big Twigs” which were made possible by generous contributions from organizations in the community.
Park officials say the commissioned sculptures, created by artist Steve Brauch of Brainchild Creative LLC, were funded by a grant from the Felix E. Martin Jr. Foundation, along with matching donations from Owensboro Health Muhlenberg Community Hospital and Old National Bank.
Kentucky State Parks Commissioner Russ Meyer says the state’s parks play a vital role in helping attract guests to local communities. He adds the partnership with Muhlenberg County Tourism Commission is a great opportunity for both the park and the community to attract visitors from all across the commonwealth.
Mary Kate Kordes, chairperson of the Muhlenberg County Tourism Commission, says they are thrilled to bring this new attraction to the state park. She notes, as a tourist attraction, many will be discovering Lake Malone State Park and beautiful Lake Malone for the first time and, after seeing the “Big Twigs,” will want to visit again and again creating a positive impact on the local and regional economy. She adds the tourism commission is hopeful that the sculptures will attract an additional ten thousand visitors annually to Lake Malone State Park.
Lake Malone State Park is one of 45 Kentucky State Parks that offer a variety of outdoor recreation activities that Kentuckians can enjoy. The state park is located in Dunmor and consists of over 200 acres with well-maintained hiking trails, camping sites, picnic pavilions and playgrounds. The 788-acre lake is enclosed by 50-foot sandstone bluffs and surrounded by hardwood forests of mountain laurel, holly and dogwood trees.
The sculptures are open to the public and free of charge.
