CowParade comes to Queens

By Rachel Vick

Queens is home to a new herd of cows as part of CowParade 2021 two decades after the first fundraiser.

Among the over a dozen ceramic sculptures scattered across the city is “Don’t Have a Cow” by Pat Conlon, adorned with his signature bubbles, gracing the Rockaway shoreline.

"Growing up in Rockaway Beach, I am beyond excited to have my work displayed against the backdrop of the ocean - the very thing that ultimately inspired the design of the cow," said Conlon, whose sculpture was sponsored by the Rockaway Hotel.

"The bubbles spanning the length of the structure are symbolic and substantial but at the surface, they are just bubbles,” he added. “Bubbles allowed me to create something that was user friendly and child-like, snapshotting a moment in time and feeling of happiness, before it washes away. Embodying strength in numbers and community, a feeling of mindlessness and liberation.”

A majority of Queens’ cows have found their temporary home at the New York Hall of Science “pasture,” where they will remain through Sept. 30.

A Leopard Can Change His Spots by Jamie Drake, A Mazing Graze from Capital One, Attacked by a Swarm of Bees by Natchie, Baby Girl by Judy Morlock, BOS Taurus Galaxia by Ivan Ortiz, Ciao Cow by Billi Kid, Cleopatra The Belgian Blue by Garrett Chingery, Cows Love We Deliver by Lisa Grubb, Grace by Nick Peate, Happy Birthday to Moo by David Stark, I Love Moo York by Elizabeth Meggs, Mi Amor by Hektad, More Cow Bell by Anthony Castro, Nááts’íilid Béégashii (Rainbow Cow) by Amy Denet Deal, Noa the Empress Cow by Melissa Staiger, Sharing Your Feelings is Cool by Timothy Goodman, The Love Child, Tropical Moood by Sydney, and We Are New York by Fernando Romero are all on view at the museum in Corona.

The statues will then be auctioned off to benefit God’s Love We Deliver, a charity that provides prepared meals, nutrition education and counseling.