Roosters of Ogunquit, Maine
Roosters seemed to be everywhere along the main street as we drove to our hotel in Ogunquit, Maine. My family and I have vacationed here for more than sixty years, and I have never seen six-foot-tall metal sculptures of colorful roosters here before. We pondered the meaning of more than fifty of these whimsical birds adorning the front yards of businesses and so many homes in the area. A new yard fad like pink lawn penguins? Advertising something? A new way to intrigue tourists? We noticed others stopping to take photos of these curious metal birds.
We have come to Ogunquit beach for all those years because we think it is the best beach ever. Long ago children and grandchildren came with us and explored tide pools to find starfish and sand dollars. Peeps running up and down with the waves are a never-ending delight. And some days it was warm enough for boogie boarding in the surf.
But this year an unexpected story unfolded about the roosters. Pyper loves roosters. She is a six-year-old girl, who is autistic and living with her adopted family in Ogunquit. When she arrived at her new home, she had a stuffed rooster with her belongings. Roosters are a comforting presence for her and offer peace and calm. Realizing how important roosters were to Pyper, the family purchased and accumulated more than two dozen large, colorful metal roosters over several years. She loved seeing them in the yard, and being near them helped her transition to things that were difficult like riding the school bus.
Pyper’s family, just by chance, owns the local Omelette Factory that also uses a rooster as its symbol they feel is honoring their daughter. However, Ogunquit officials decided that roosters in the family yard were unauthorized business signage. Fines were levied when a dispute followed. The family insisted that the metal birds were there for Pyper, not for advertising. The town eventually allowed two metal roosters to remain in the yard, while the others had to be removed.
At this point, other people and businesses in town began “fostering” Pyper’s roosters—a very special tribute because Pyper had, in the past, been a foster child before her adoption. What began as colorful metal birds that gave comfort to Pyper, became signs of support from a community of kindness, autism acceptance, and inclusion. After the Portland Press Herald and the Associated Press and other news outlets reported this story, “Pyper’s Roosters” became “The Roosters of Ogunquit” spreading awareness and acceptance of autism and neurodiversity over the world. Roosters can be found along the East coast of the United States and as far away as New Zealand. If you want to follow more of the controversy over these birds, go to the Facebook site: The Roosters of Ogunquit. From there you can go to the Rooster’s store and buy t-shirts, hats and other items that will help to support the community of people who are neurodiverse and autistic.
Ogunquit has been known as an artist’s community since the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Painting and sculpture have been the life blood of people here for a very long time. Now the question is being debated, when does a fanciful lawn decoration become a public-art installation? What do you think? Are the roosters now public art that should be supported by the town officials in Ogunquit?