History of the Cow Parade

Cow Parade (Cow parade) is an international, public art exhibition that has been on display in major cities around the world. The cows come in a variety of sizes and shapes, and the history of the CowParade was started in Zurich in 1998 by artistic director, Swiss-born sculptor Pascal Knapp, who also owns the copyright to the standing, lying, and standing fiberglass cow forms used in CowParade events.

The art project was based on an idea that was first implemented in the same city in 1986: lions as a symbol – from Zurich – were painted and then displayed throughout the city. The concept was brought to the United States, when Chicago businessman Peter Hanig, together with Cultural Affairs Representative Luis Weisberg, organized the Cow Parade event in Chicago in 1999, after which the Swiss company CowHolding Parade AG began to develop the idea and expand it. The success of this company inspired many other cities to host similar charitable fundraising projects. The idea has been adopted by other cities, which have chosen animals for public art projects with painted fiberglass sculptures.

The “Cow Parade” phenomenon has spawned projects to create replica statues of various animals in several cities around the world. In 2001, a similar project appeared in Berlin, where human-sized bear sculptures were designed by German entrepreneurs Klaus and Eva Herlitzi, and in 2005, the aforementioned Swiss city of Zurich adapted the bear theme for “Teddy-Summer.”

The fiberglass cow sculptures were created by local, national artists, expressing their vision, message and story to the public through the image of a cow. These works created works of art and designs characteristic of local culture, as well as reflecting city life, values ​​and other relevant themes, the painted cows were placed in city centers in public places, such as train stations, promenades, important streets and parks. After the exhibition in the city, which can last several months, the cow statues are auctioned and the proceeds are donated to charity. /wikipedia.org/

Why Cows?

The cow is a universally beloved animal. The cow represents different things to different people around the world – she is sacred, she is historical, she connects us to our past, but the common feeling is affection. The cow is something magical that transcends the whole world. She simply makes everyone smile. /www.cowparade.com/

Cowparade in Ventspils

In 2002, Ventpils hosted the Cow Parade 2002, which is considered the largest and most successful public art event in the world. At that time, 25 life-size fiberglass cows were transformed into wonderful works of art, which were later auctioned off at a charity auction. Six exhibits from this Cow Parade can still be seen in Ventpils.

In 2012, celebrating the 10th anniversary of the “Cow Parade 2002”, the streets, squares and parks of Ventspils were once again filled with 2012 magnificent and diverse participants of the Cow Parade Ventspils 24, created by artists from Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and even Azerbaijan. As part of the patronage project, all the money donated by selling the artworks was directed to charity – a playground was built for the students of the “Selga” orphanage, while after the auction the cows live with their new owners, but some of them still delight the city’s guests and the residents of Ventspils themselves.

Ventspils has 24 sculptures of cows of various sizes and colors, created by famous Latvian and foreign artists. The city has 21 life-size fiberglass cows and 3 large cows – Cow Sailor, Flower Cow and Cow ""Waking Dreams"– 4 meters high and 7 meters wide.

After almost 10 years, a new exhibit “Ghetto Games Cow” has joined our parade – the creator of the visual materials is the world-famous Latvian artist Vladislavs Lakše. The cow was created in the spirit of an extreme sports festival and depicts athletes from Ventspils – Tomas Grīnbergs, Madars Apse and Kārlis Lasmanis, as well as other recognizable athletes.

To make it easier to find all the goats in Ventspils, a walking map.

How did Ventspils get the honor of hosting this parade?

The project was international, and is considered the largest and most successful public art event in the world, and it was also noticed in Ventspils. The idea of ​​the city's participation in this project was presented by the municipal employees to the then Chairman of the Ventspils City Council, Aivars Lembergs. The Chairman was interested in this idea, because it was quite clear that the internationally recognized art and patronage project “Cow Parade” would gain wide recognition for the city, whose name in the field of urban marketing would stand alongside the world's largest metropolises, all of which are united by the understanding of how important a comfortable, orderly and attractive urban environment is, which Ventspils has always been proud of.

How did the 3x big Cows (Flower Cow, Sailor Cow, Waking Dreams Cow) come about?

The idea was conceived by the Ventspils municipality. Along with the little cows, the idea arose that these little cows needed to be increased in size to add diversity to the urban environment.

The dimensions of ''Cow Sailor'' were made clear in a very simple way - a small cow on the pier would only be visible to pedestrians, but in order to be seen from the deck of a ship, the cow would have to be several times larger. The giant cow ''Cow Sailor'' created by Augusts Vilcāns in 2006 still greets the captains of ships entering the port of Ventspils.

In 2012, while preparing for the tenth anniversary of the Ventspils Cow Parade, the idea arose to create a giant cow statue made of flowers. Ventspils is known as the flower capital of Latvia, which is why a four-meter-high and seven-meter-long flower sculpture in the shape of a cow was created in the Sarkanmuiža meadow, surrounded by beds of bright “Sea Stones”.

The sculpture “Waking Dreams”, which acquired a new visual form in 2025, is a creative and vibrant interpretation of contemporary art created by artist Elita Patmalniece. Until then, for twenty years, this large-format cow was known as “The Traveler” with a suitcase-shaped design, created by artist Pauls Spridzāns. Due to wear and tear, the sculpture was given a new image, enriching the urban environment with a bright visual transformation.

Souvenirs

In addition, replica cow figurines and other themed products are also created, and each figurine is an exact copy of one of the more than 100 original cows exhibited at CowParade events. They can be purchased at the official CowParade online store – Mini Moos. You can view a wider range of offers here.