You have seen them while driving around town, walked the Bulldog route throughout town, and taken photos…. Now it’s your chance to take one of the Bulldogs home! Purchase tickets today for the Bulldogs Unleashed Live Auction & Celebration on Saturday, September 15th. This year there are 30 Bulldogs and 15 are going to auction!
Bulldogs Unleashed is a public art event that has placed decorated bulldogs throughout downtown Batavia during the summer, from Memorial Day to Labor Day. The program encouraged businesses to participate by sponsoring and creating imaginative works of art for public display.
Supporting three Batavia Foundations, the funds raised through this program will benefit; the Batavia Public Library, the Batavia Parks Foundation and the Batavia Foundation for Educational Excellence. This fundraiser benefits Batavia as a whole and more specifically, everyone in Batavia who takes advantage of the wonderful park facilities, the library or who have children in Batavia Public School District 101.
This is the second year of this fundraiser, originally started in 2011, the first year they had 30 Bulldogs and 12 of them went to auction. The Bulldogs Unleashed Foundation hopes to surpass the amount of money raised from 2011, when $75,000 was raised and split amongst the three community foundations.
Business’ who were interested in sponsoring were able to participate, with the option of donating the bulldog for auction at the conclusion of the event. Sponsors were able to collaborate with an Artist to create original designs to paint that represent Batavia or the sponsor business for public viewing.
BEI Properties was one the biggest supporter in 2011 the inaugural year purchasing five dogs that have been placed in front of their buildings every spring for the community to enjoy! BEI Properties was able to connect with artist, Dana Parisi, to work on the BEI Bulldog for 2018.
Dana Parisi who resides in Chicago but was introduced to the Batavia Art Scene though a friend who is a Batavia resident. Parisi participated in this event in 2011 and created two Bulldogs, one of them “Fermi Lap Dog” was awarded Best in Show from
Batavia Through the Seasons
the Bulldogs Unleashed Organization and the residents of Batavia. In 2011, Parisi was also one of six artist’s selected to create a mural for the Batavia Public Mural Program, her piece “Batavia Through the Seasons” is visible from Water Street in Batavia as it is hung along the west side of BEI Properties’ industrial building at 180 Water Street, where long-standing customer, Pamarco, resides in downtown Batavia.
Tail of Two Cities Bulldog“During my involvement in Bulldogs Unleashed, I discovered the amazing art scene in Batavia and found more ways to get involved. I love that residents of Batavia have enthusiastically supported the arts which has resulted in a flourishing creative community!” Stated Parisi.
This year she designed and created “A Tail of Two Cities” which depicts the 2017 acquisition of Miscella Real Estate by BEI Properties and the blending of our values, community alignment and customer and referral base. In addition, the Bulldog highlights the buildings BEI Properties owns and manages in Batavia and Geneva.
BEI Properties is a locally owned property management, development and commercial real estate firm dedicated to investing in the communities in which its buildings reside. For 59 years BEI Properties has been an active supporter and participant in local community events and is proud to have helped many local non-for-profit organizations. With properties in Batavia, Geneva, St. Charles, West Chicago, Elburn, Sugar Grove and Rockford, the company can provide quality space to help growth and expansion for all types of businesses. Now merging with Miscella Real Estate the company can refer you to the best Boutique Real Estate Firm in the Fox Valley Area.
