The New York Times: Food Stuff - Bear Mountain State Park and the Hudson Valley Art Project - 21 May, 2003

IN STATE PARKS, FRIENDLY ANIMALS TAKE TO THE RANGE

Barbeque grills were once ubiquitous in state parks in the Hudson valley. But over the years they fell prey to neglect and vandalism. Now, in time for Memorial Day, they are back, but with a difference. Five designs of animal-shape cast-iron grills by Pae White, a Los Angeles artist, have been installed in Bear Mountain State Park, south of West Point, and in Franklin D. Roosevelt State park in Yorktown Heights. There’s an owl, a turtle, a rabbit, a fox, and a frog, most with hinged covers.

The grills, which were commissioned by Minetta Brook, a non-profit organization that sponsors art in public places, will be introduced on Saturday with a party at Hessian Lake in Bear Mountain State Park. Chefs, including Gray Kunz, Katy Sparks, Michael Romano, Dan Barber and Jean-Georges Vongerichten, have prepared a menu of food that will be grilled, using Hudson Valley purveyors.

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