Two segments of the T-Rex sculpture are seen suspended in Kevin Stone's shop in this undated photo.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/Kevin Stone
September 15, 2023 - 4:30 PM
The world’s largest stainless steel T-Rex will be unveiled in the South Okanagan next week.
Renowned massive metal sculptor Kevin Stone from Chilliwack is assembling his 50 ft. long, 17,000 lb. dinosaur and hopes to deliver the sculpture to the Eden Park Lakehouse on Lower Bench Road in Penticton Tuesday, Sept. 19.
“It's about as big as a Greyhound bus,” Stone said.
It's taken Stone two years and hundreds of hours to complete the dinosaur in segments because it is too massive to be built in one piece.
READ MORE: B.C. artist will finally have a masterpiece as steel T-rex takes shape in Penticton.
“I'm really excited,” he said. “This is one of the biggest sculptures unveiled in Canada. It's certainly the biggest stainless steel T-Rex possibly in the world.”
Stone has made sculptures for the rich and famous like a giant eagle for Dolly Parton and a fire breathing dragon for Elon Musk, but this is his first project to be displayed locally where the public can see it.
The tricky part now is to transport the beast, it has to be loaded onto trucks in pieces and driven down the highway to be assembled at the winery in Penticton.
“I've got cranes and semi-trucks showing up at my shop. And we're going to drag all three pieces of the T-Rex outside and get them rigged up for lifting,” he said. “Shipping always makes me nervous.”
He’s most excited about seeing the looks on people’s faces.
“It will be visible by the Kettle Valley Trail, along the lake there. So everybody going up the trail is going to be able to see it on display. So that's really awesome. It's going to have tons of people and tons of eyes on it and we're really looking forward to it.”
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