Dragonfly Landing, Community Welcome Home Celebration
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 13, 2026
CONTACT:
Barry C. Stevens, President
Abigail Handy-Garcia, Grants/Development Officer
Northeast Louisiana Arts Council
barry@nelaarts.org
abigail@nelaarts.org
318.397.6717
Dragonfly Landing, Community Welcome Home Celebration
Thursday, August 27, 2026
WEST MONROE, La. — The Northeast Louisiana Arts Council is excited to announce that the Dragonfly sculpture has landed back in Monroe’s Forsythe Park.
A Welcome Home Celebration and ribbon cutting will be held Thursday, August 27th from 5:00-7:00pm in Forsythe Park. Welcome remarks and ribbon cutting will begin at 6:00pm.
Originally unveiled in 1995, Edmund Williamson’s iconic Dragonfly has finally returned home. After years away, a complete restoration has been completed with the Dragonfly being re-installed and relocated for all to see and enjoy.
The restoration and return were made possible through an incredible partnership between the Northeast Louisiana Arts Council, the city of Monroe, the Playground League for All Youth at Forsythe, Councilman Doug Harvey, James Machine Works, restoration artist Brooke Foy, and 33 Friends of the Dragonfly.
We hope that, once again, this will become a place where families make memories, take photos, and enjoy one of Monroe’s newest, yet oldest, public art landmarks for years to come.
Everyone is invited to come out, bring the kids, and stay for a while. There will be live music, face painting, kids’ activities, and local food vendors with food and treats available for purchase from Living Water Dirty Sodas, Hebrews iced coffees, Kona Ice and Red Dog Hot Dogs.
Admission is free and all are welcome.
About the Northeast Louisiana Arts Council
The Northeast Louisiana Arts Council nurtures a vibrant regional arts culture through support, promotion, and education. The Northeast Louisiana Arts Council strives to be a transformative force for the community by encouraging a passion for the arts, promoting partnerships and collaboration, and ensuring access to the arts for all. The Arts Council serves Union, Jackson, Lincoln, Ouachita, Morehouse, West Carroll, East Carroll, Madison, Tensas, Franklin, Richland, and Caldwell Parishes. Activities of the Arts Council are supported, in part, by a grant from the Louisiana Division of the Arts, Office of Cultural Development, Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism, in cooperation with the Louisiana State Arts Council. Funding has also been provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.
