Strip steak: Mad cow delegation moovin’ on in

Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2002 | 8:30 a.m.

For a while, it had the frenetic backstage pace of show business.

Siegfried & Roy were half-decked in a warehouse on Industrial Boulevard.

Roy's costume trim dangled from his bulbous body. His hoof paint was chipped. Golden highlights had not yet been added to his hair.

Covered in primer, Siegfried looked no better. And Wayne Newton was literally in pieces on the other side of town.

But that was two weeks ago. As herds of fiberglass cows begin grazing the streets and casinos of Las Vegas this weekend, most everybody seems to be in order.

The tourist-boosting, fund-raising, public-art event known as CowParade will unleash nearly 100 decorated Holsteins. More cows will be rolled out through the winter holidays.

The cows will be spread across the Las Vegas Vegas Valley, including sites in Summerlin and Henderson. The majority, however, will be on the Strip between Convention Center Drive and Tropicana Avenue.

Though the idea is to have people search for the cows, organizers say some cows will be placed in the most likely locations.

The towering and bipedal "Moogicians of the Century" cows will be posing at the Mirage, where the real Siegfried & Roy perform.

The tuxedoed "Wayne Mooton" will be displayed at Newton's onstage home, Stardust. And "Bovina," a mooliciously jewel-studded showgirl with hot-pink legs, matching feathers and sequined panties, will make stops at McCarran International Airport and Strip hotels where showgirls regularly perform.

"This has been pretty fun, I have to say," said Angelic Fedevich, the artist who designed Bovina, the showgirl cow, and who will be operating the cow hospital where injured and broken cows will be sent for repairs.

"I think everybody is pretty excited about seeing the version of themselves as a cow."

In addition to the celebrity cows, there are scenic cows representing hotels and other local interests, such as the helmeted fire-engine red cow sponsored by Las Vegas Fire and Rescue.

Unsuspecting cows

Las Vegas is the 11th city to participate in CowParade. It was County Commissioner Erin Kenny who initiated the effort.

The parades began independently in the city of Zurich, Switzerland, in 1998. Hoping to improve its image and draw tourists, Zurich placed three painted cows on its streets.

Hundreds of cows have since been plopped onto sidewalks and herded into city parks throughout the world. Cows are often placed in retail areas and have reportedly pumped millions of dollars into the economy by drawing tourists and locals to the spectacle.

The unsuspecting Elsies have been striped, spotted, winged, clown-nosed, flowered, garden-gnomed, ticker-taped and battered (deep-fried) -- by the artists.

They have been turned into surfers, policemen, astronauts, ice skaters ("A Triple Sal Cow"), bridges, celebrities, furniture and such characters as Jeanie in "I Dream of Jeanie."

Chicago hosted the first U.S. CowParade. New York followed -- to the chagrin of many New Yorkers who thought the commercial, rather than artistic, event was too low-brow for the cosmopolitan city.

In June, Ventspils, Latvia, became the first Eastern European city to host CowParade. Australia and London have also participated. Both San Antonio and Dublin, Ireland, are scheduled for Cow Parades.

Each city keeps the cows on display for a few months. Afterward the cows are auctioned by Sotheby's and the Internet and the money is donated to local charities.

According to CowParade Holdings Corp. (based in West Hartford, Conn.), the cows auctioned at the Chicago CowParade raised $3.5 million for charity. Additional funds are raised by corporations, residents, community groups and private businesses that pay at least $7,500 to sponsor a cow.

Local sponsors include Nevada Childhood Cancer, Girl Scouts of Frontier, Four Seasons hotels and The Museum Company. The Andre Agassi Foundation is one of the main beneficiaries of the Las Vegas CowParade.

Cows from each city are represented in giftware that includes figurines, coffee mugs, magnets, picture frames, stuffed animals, ornaments, snow globes and mouse pads.

A figurine of "Bovina" is scheduled to be released Nov. 1 and others will follow. At least 20 Las Vegas cows will be released in figurines, Jerry Elbaum, president of CowParade Holdings Corp., said.

Have a cow

Fortunately, Las Vegas has plenty of cheese to choose from as subject matter. The rule for no political, religious or sexual imagery applying to CowParade art leaves the barn door wide open for designs that can be artsy or kitschy, yet amenable to CowParade's wholesome requirements.

For artists participating in CowParade New York, this wasn't easy. When CowParade efforts began there, the New York Foundation for the Arts reportedly chose not to impose the ban on religious, political or sexual works.

David Lynch's decapitated cow, which the director said he spent several days constructing, was rejected for being too gruesome. The cow's head was severed and placed in the cow's gutted back. Forks and knives were jabbed into the cow and the words "Eat My Fear" were scrawled on its side.

After paying $15,000 to sponsor two cows, one of PETA's two submitted designs was rejected for language CowParade organizers thought inappropriate for children. Its other design, a cow dressed in pleather (plastic leather) was accepted.

Organizers say there hasn't been a problem in Las Vegas. Nearly 600 designs were submitted and for the most part were tastefully done, said Doug Sanderson, chief executive director of CowParade Las Vegas.

Because of the quality of the work and Las Vegas' worldwide recognition, Elbaum said he expects cows from Las Vegas to be very popular.

Sandeson said the effort will draw due attention to Las Vegas artists. Ninety percent of the Las Vegas cows were designed by local artists.

Expected to draw the most exposure is the Las Vegas Icon cow, designed by local artists John Mian and Jim Severson. The cow bears a replica of the "Welcome to Las Vegas" sign mounted atop its back, with facades of popular Strip hotels painted underneath, on the cow's side.

"Drive Carefully Come Back Soon" can be read from the opposite side of the sign. The desert scenery viewed when heading south on the Strip from Las Vegas is painted on that side of the cow's body.

"People are going to realize that there is a lot of talent in Las Vegas," Sanderson said. "It will add to the tourism industry." He added, "Once they've seen one CowParade, they want to come out for more."

Cow safety

But keeping the cows intact during the four-month exhibit will be a 'round-the-clock effort.

The cow hospital will be taking in casualties who may suffer broken legs, horns, ears and chipped paint.

Cow tipping in other cities has occurred. In New York, two thieves were caught stealing a cow. Another cow was stolen from Forest Park in Queens, N.Y. A reward of $1,000 was offered for the capture of the rustlers.

In Sydney, Australia, cows were vandalized, overturned and stolen.

"Vandalism in Sydney was terrible," Elbaum said. "They destroyed cows. In New York we had a fair amount of vandalism ... But the vandalism wears off in a couple of days.

"People do give our cows a lot of affection. We had a Marilyn Monroe cow in Chicago. The kids would kiss the lips of the cow and it had to be repainted."

In Las Vegas, Elbaum said, "There are a number of them that have to be exhibited indoors so people don't abuse them. I think the only thing we'll have to do is repair them because people are affectionate with them.

"A lot of these are meant to be sat on by kids and horns get broken. We have an emergency call-in number if there's any problem and our hospital people go check them daily."

Fedevich, the 29-year-old scenic and production designer, who created Bovina the showgirl cow and worked on the construction of Wayne Mooten, Siegfried & Roy (with local sculptors Chris Barnes and Matt Kovatch), said she's not anticipating any serious problems.

Glancing toward the cows, Fedevich explained that because of the party nature of the Las Vegas Strip, "They're probably going to get alcohol spilled on them."

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