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Meet Lucky!

The Ville Team is excited to introduce Lucky, our dog sculpture in the Downtown Naperville Alliance’s 2026 Sculpture Series!

Lucky is a Labrador Retriever brought to life with pennies and nickels, creating the rich colors, texture, and character of her fur. Inspired by a coin-covered sculpture in Tahoe City, California, Lucky brings that same sense of wonder to downtown Naperville.

Created by four talented artists — Angelique Burrell, Kymmy Butts, and Roberta & Jack Wiesemes — Lucky is the result of collaboration, creativity, and countless hours of detailed work. Every coin was carefully placed to create the unique patterns and texture that make her one of a kind.

Artist Statement: How Did Lucky Come to Be?

The inspiration for Lucky came from a statue in Tahoe City, California of a mother bear and her two cubs. The statue, named Ursa Mater (aka Mother Bear), is over 12 feet tall, weighs 5,700 pounds, and is covered in more than 200,000 U.S. and Canadian pennies.

Before creating Lucky, we reached out to Lisa and Robert Ferguson, Ursa Mater’s artists, for advice. In their reply, they encouraged us to make art by experimenting since “that is where the fun is.” We followed their advice, laughed through all the trial and error, and brought a work of art to life.

Lucky is nowhere as large as Ursa Mater, but we hope the public can experience the same joy we felt when we first met her.

Experience Lucky

Lucky is meant to be a tactile and visual joy. Run a hand along her “fur,” discover pattern variations, search for the two hidden miniature bones, and guess the number of pennies and nickels used to create her.

Lucky is currently located in front of Hugo’s Frog Bar as part of the Downtown Naperville Sculpture Series, which features 24 dog sculptures and 1 cat sculpture displayed throughout downtown Naperville all summer long. See the map!

We hope you love Lucky as much as we do. And, if you do, don’t forget to vote for Lucky as your favorite pup in Downtown Naperville.

Lucky Dog Contest

Feeling Lucky?

Lucky the dog has been turning heads this summer in Downtown Naperville, but one question remains: how many coins does it take to cover a pup? 🐾

Think you know the answer? Submit your guess below for a chance to win!

How it works:

• Visit Lucky in Downtown Naperville (in front of Hugo’s) and take a closer look at this one-of-a-kind sculpture.
• Determine your best guess as to how many coins – pennies & nickels combined – were used.
• Submit your best estimate through The Ville Team’s website (below) now through Friday, August 21, 11:59pm CST.
• Follow along on The Ville Team’s Instagram and Facebook pages for Lucky updates and the winner announcement.

The person with the closest guess without going over will take home the prize and earn bragging rights as Lucky’s official penny-counting champion! One lucky winner will receive a $250 Downtown Naperville gift card presented by The Ville Team!

Things to Note:

• Entrants must be 13 years of age or older.
• If the winner is under 18 years old, a parent or legal guardian must be present to claim the prize.
• One entry per person (email address).
• Please do not climb on or damage the sculpture.
• Winner announced on Monday, August 24, 2026.

Lucky Dog

is part of the Downtown Naperville Alliance’s 2026 Sculptures

located in front of Hugo’s Frog Bar (see map)
sponsored by The Ville Team – Coldwell Banker Realty
Artists: Angelique Burrell, Kymmy Butts, and Roberta & Jack Wiesemes