Ride a Giant Hog at Kenny's Weird Home in Lytton
Named for Edward Bulwer-Lytton, the tiny town of Lytton was on the route of the Gold Rush in 1858. For many years Lytton was a stop on major transportation routes until the construction of the Coquihalla Highway. Lytton is where you will find a weird home belonging to eclectic artist Kenny Glasgow. If you wander around he’ll probably come out to meet you. If not, ring the bell in the church tower or wander into his shop and if he’s home you’ll surely find him puttering about under his favorite quote: “Welcome to my debris of independence, the remaining parts of my thrown away youth, my hovel of broken accomplishments, my plans of yesterdays failures, my wreckage of shattered dreams, my promises of great returns. Yes, come in. We can cry over yours as well, for it is only human to share.”
Kenny’s art is inspired by his writing. His living quarters are attached to his garage and it is there where he sits down in front of his journal and jots down his thoughts. He then transforms his writing into works of art to display in his yard.
Shit can be on your feet, shit can be on your hands and shit can be on your face. But don’t ever let shit be on your mind for that greatest possession we’ve all inherited must always be kept clean, functional and pure! –Kenny Glasgow An excavator by trade, Kenny dreams of the day he wins the lottery so he can hire three full time people to help him create all the works of art bursting from his mind. Kenny has been creating works of art for over 14 years claiming that “you always keep doing things you feel you are good at and I feel I am good at it so I will keep doing it”. His greatest work to date is definitely the huge Harley that draws visitors from all over BC. The largest of three motorbikes on display (the first is 1.5 scale, the second is 2 times scale), this masterpiece is three times larger than the motorbike that inspired it and took his three years to build. Since bike parts don’t come in this size, Kenny had to build all the parts from scratch. At first, he was only going to build the front end of a bike and bolt it to a tree to look like a Harley ran through a tree, but his brother and good friend kept bringing him more parts encouraging him to build the entire bike.Kenny thought this was an impossible mission but he didn’t want to let them down so he figured he would at least give it a try. When the first bike turned out better than he could have imagined, he garnered enough enthusiasm to attempt a double sized bike. While admiring the double sized bike one day, the number three entered his mind. Believing there is something magic about the number three, Kenny set about building the 24ft long Great Hog of Freedom.
Relying completely on word of mouth, the news of this remarkable creation spread like wildfire and before he knew it, bikers from all over were coming to pay homage to the giant hog. The walls of his small library soon became filled with pictures of all his visitors. Admission is by donation, so be sure to find the donation box and be generous so this artist can continue to add to his collection and give us new pieces to keep us coming back every year.
|
|
|
HOW TO GET THERE...
After driving to Lytton, turn off at the first exit and follow the signs for Lilliooet on highway 12. After you cross the bridge over the Thompson River, you will see a United Gas station. Take the road to the right until you see a sign that says “Native Land, no trespassing”. Ignore the sign and continue up the road. Part way up the hill you will come to a driveway with a 60 ft replica of a Winchester rifle over the gate. |