By Bernheim
Bernheim is thrilled to announce the arrival of our Giant family! Mama Loumari, along with her two kids, Nis and Elina, arrived on Friday, March 15, 2019. All are happy and healthy, and excited to meet Bernheim’s visitors!
The Forest Giants in a Giant Forest are expected to call Bernheim home for at least three years. They love to meet visitors of all ages and to have their photos taken – share yours @bernheimforest or #BernheimForestGiants.
Want to come out for a visit? Here are some tips on how to see this wonderful family:
- Follow signs for designated parking areas
- Stop by the Visitor Center to get started on your Giant-seeking adventure
- Interacting with the Giants is encouraged, but please use common sense. In this short time we have already seen some damage from climbing and advise against doing so for the longevity of their lives. We ask that you not climb on Mama Loumari, and limit climbing to the hands and feet of Elina and Nis.
- Become a member to visit them for free even on weekends
Below is the full story of our Forest Giants in the form of a fairy tale, written by Danish Artist, Thomas Dambo. While the Weather Got Better is a chapter that’s part of a larger story connecting the previously made Giant Trolls by the artist. The full fairy tale will be available for viewing at ThomasDambo.com in the near future.
Thanks to our sponsors, The Gheens Foundation, Brown-Forman, GE Appliances, Bullitt County Tourism, LG&E-KU, and Bob Ray Company.
The Great Story of The Little People & The Giant Trolls
While The Weather Got Better
It was a cold winter, but the snow felt warm
He woke up with eyes closed and heard himself yawn
His name was Isak Heartstone*, on mountain top of them all
A name they gave him as small, now he was 36 feet tall
Still a young giant, only 700,051 years
Already a father to two, full of eyes, full of tears
Full of love he was, but felt alone on the mountain
He walked down to the forest, in the forest he found them
His two beautiful children, little Elina and Nis
And their mama Loumari, a hug and a kiss
They spent the winter together while the weather got better
Elina looked at the sky, from the sky fell a feather
It was a sign of good luck, and a fertile forest
Where every being had a place from the smallest to tallest
They made a circle of life, they would soon have a brother
It’s good luck for a baby, when it sleeps in the mother
Some of wood, some of stone, some of sun, some of seeds
Some of quarts, some of leaves and what fell from the trees
A dragon skull he found 200,000 years ago
It was a symbol of strength, so the baby would grow
But now the ice was melted and Isak looked to the mountain
He knew he had to go back and put his big arms around them
A hug and a kiss, Nis, Elina, Loumari
I will be back again soon, he yelled, walking the prairie
* Isak Heartstone lived in Breckinridge, Colorado. He is in the process of moving, so he visited Loumari, Nis, and Elina at Bernheim before he returns to Colorado in the near future.
To learn more about these sculptures, the artist, or Bernheim’s Arts in Nature Program, click here.
Your donations are important to our mission of connecting people with nature and supports programming, conservation efforts and education activities; not to mention the Giants’ GIANT appetites.
