Even if you think you’ve seen whirligigs, you’ve never seen anything like the Vollis Simpson Whirligig Park in Wilson, North Carolina.
I’m visiting my cousin in Raleigh, and we took a drive because she knew I’d love the park. Anything hinting of the unusual is attractive to me. This place blew me away, literally—the wind was fierce—and figuratively.
I’d seen Simpson’s work before at the American Museum of Visionary Art, but that didn’t prepare me for this. For one thing, there are a LOT of whirligigs. But more astounding is the size and complexity of the pieces. Many dwarf the surrounding buildings and trees.
The wind was racing through, causing the whirligigs and all the smaller components to spin at a frantic pace.
Wilcon is an interesting town. We didn’t have enough time to really explore, but there are photography and ecology museums, loads of art galleries, a country doctor museum and tobacco growing museum as well as one dedicated to Ava Gardener, and a botanical garden.
I’m always delighted when small towns are filled with cultural gems.