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Willie Nelson Statue To Be Unveiled

Updated: Friday, April 20 2012, 10:49 AM CDT
The city will lift a wooden box at Willie Nelson Boulevard (aka 2nd Street) and Lavaca Street Friday afternoon, unveiling a larger than life bronze statue of Willie Nelson.

It may be a coincidence but the statue is being presented on April 20 (4/20) at 4 p.m.  The number 420 has become synonymous with the use of marijuana.  Nelson has not hid his use of cannabis.

The unveiling culminates three years of work for sculptor Clete Shields.  The statue will stand eight feet tall and weigh 1,000 pounds.  It shows Willie with his trademark bandana and ponytails holding an acoustic guitar.

The statue is a gift to the city from the non-profit group Capital Area Statues, or CAST.  CAST is the group which gave us the "Philosophers' Rock" statue near Barton Springs Pool in Zilker Park.

In 1993, the city unveiled statue for another famed Austin musician, Stevie Ray Vaughan.  It is located along the Lady Bird Lake Hike and Bike Trail on Auditorium Shores.  Vaughan died in 1990 in a helicopter crash.Willie Nelson Statue To Be Unveiled