December 12, 2002

Governor Elect Janet Napolitano to offer a “hand” to get the Ponies del Pueblo out of the gate for the Tucson-Pima Arts Council philanthropy project.

Governor Elect Janet Napolitano to attend the Ponies del Pueblo "Celebrity Pony” hand print and signing event.

Tucson, AZ Governor Elect Janet Napolitano will be coming to Cafe Terra Cotta, 3500 East Sunrise Drive, Tucson, at 2:30 p.m., Thursday, December 19, 2002 as part of a "Celebrity Pony" hand print and signing event for the Tucson-Pima Arts Council’s Ponies del Pueblo Project. The Governor Elect will be joined by Mayor Walkup and City Council Members, by Sharon Bronson, Chair of the Pima County Board of Supervisors, Congressman Jim Kolbe, Congressman Raul Grijalva, State Senator Gabrielle Giffords, other elected officials and Consul de México Carlos Flores Vizcarra. These community leaders will put their hand prints and signature on a life size pony statue.

The Ponies del Pueblo Project (www.poniesdelpueblo.org), combines cultural tourism, art and philanthropy via forty decorated ponies that are sponsored by local businesses, governments, nonprofit organizations, private foundations and individuals. Sponsors select a local artist, a nonprofit 501(c)3 as a beneficiary, and the location around southern Arizona where the pony will be on display from early March until early November 2003, when the ponies are auctioned. Similar projects have been done around the country--cows in New York, Chicago and Kansas City, pigs in Seattle, and pelicans in New Orleans.

Approximately a dozen of the total 40 ponies will be unveiled at the Family Arts Festival on Sunday, January 19, 2003 in downtown Tucson. After that, the Ponies del Pueblo will be herded to other downtown Tucson locations until the end of February. The Ponies del Pueblo will be featured at Mayor Walkup's Costume Ball for the Arts, prior to moving to other locations around Tucson and Pima Country.

The Tucson-Pima Arts Council (TPAC) is orchestrating the Ponies del Pueblo Project. One of the forty ponies has been designated a "Celebrity" Pony and will be adorned with colorful hand prints and signatures of Tucson and Southern Arizona celebrities including elected officials. Governor Elect Janet Napolitano will lead the hand print event on Thursday, December 19th, 2002 at 2:30 p.m. at Café Terra Cotta, 3500 East Sunrise Drive.

02/10/2003