Giant metal T-Rex assumes lookout over Okanagan city

After two years of design and construction, Alice, a giant metal T-Rex statue, has assumed her perch on a property in Penticton, B.C., overlooking Okanagan Lake. 

Alice stands about seven metres tall and 15 metres long and weighs more than five tonnes. She is visible to the public from the Kettle Valley Rail Trail.

Chilliwack-based metal sculptor Kevin Stone designed Alice. He says a “tremendous” amount of work went into her creation. 

“It’s amazing. Almost all my pieces go to private clients and very seldom are they out in the public,” said Stone. 

Stone’s apprentice used a power hammer to create the bumpy indents on the T-Rex’s body, a process Stone described as “loud” and “hard on the hands.” 

The sculptor, along with his wife and apprentice, built Alice in separate pieces in Stone’s workshop and transported them to Penticton on Tuesday on a wide, low-bed trailer. 

She was assembled on her platform for the first time that evening. Stone said he had used templates and gaskets to ensure the sculpture would line up. 

The assembly process required swinging the head into place, bolting the pieces together from inside the body, then climbing out through a hatch on her back. 

“The face is real mean-looking and aggressive-looking and very detailed. I hope it shows well,” said Stone. 

He said the project cost a total of about $395,000 in labour and materials. 

‘A little quirky and unusual’

Frank Schilling, who grew up in the Okanagan and currently lives in the Cayman Islands, commissioned the sculpture for his Penticton property, a vacation rental called Eden Park Lakehouse. 

“I’ve always liked dinosaurs and I thought, well, maybe it’s time to build that giant dinosaur that I wanted,” said Schilling. 

Schilling said he collaborated with local officials to see if it could be placed on public property. When it was determined it could not, Schilling decided to place it on his own property in a way that is viewable to the public.

“It’s a little quirky and a little unusual, but it just somehow felt appropriate for me up on that ridge there,” said Schilling. 

“I sincerely hope other people in town who see it are inspired to create art of their own that adds to the community.”

Penticton resident Kathryn Snider brought her two kids to watch Alice being constructed from the Kettle Valley Rail Trail. 

Snider said the new sculpture provides a destination point for people walking on the trail to stop and take photos, and may encourage more to come out and enjoy the trail. 

“This is very generous. It’s pretty cool,” said Snider. 

Natasha Scott, the operations manager of the vacation rental Alice resides on, says she has been eagerly awaiting the arrival of Alice. 

“Alice is home,” said Scott. “She belongs here.”