Toronto’s infamous dead raccoon among artwork displayed at beaches this winter

Toronto will soon get a larger-than-life tribute to its infamous dead raccoon. Winter Stations is making a comeback this February and a #DeadRaccoonTO display is among the chosen winners.

“Conrad was the name of a raccoon that died on the corner of Yonge and Church in the summer of 2015,” says a description of the project by Novak Djogo & Daniel Joshua Vanderhorst.

“Though Conrad was just a raccoon, he was human enough to inspire compassion and warmth in the hearts of Torontonians.”

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Those who were around during this somber time in Toronto’s history might remember the makeshift memorial that locals made in his honour. Dark times.

Winter Stations has published all eight of this year’s winning installations on its website.

Each year, the event hosts a single-state international design competition and participants must incorporate the Kew and Woodbine beach lifeguard towers into their installations.

The winners will get to bring their designs to life and showcase them along the beaches for several weeks in the wintertime.

Other chosen displays this year include the (Home), a house-shaped pavilion that emits a vivid kaleidoscope pattern through multicoloured lights that represents the radiance of the home.

Another featured display is the Ripple Hut, which is a unique series of structures that will “serve as a place of convergence for visitors and will invite users to interact with its spatial and material conditions.”

All of the winning displays are featured on Winter Stations’ website.

Winter Stations will be taking place at multiple locations this year and instead of staying in one place, some installations will be relocated.

Both Conrad and (the) Home will be on display in Mississauga. In the spring and summer, (the) Home will move to Sir Casmir Gzowski Park in Etobicoke’s Sunnyside neighbourhood and Conrad will remain in Mississauga.

The public exhibition begins on February 20th, meaning that we only have a few weeks left to wait until we can experience these displays in real life.