While on our recent road trip across north central Kansas, Jeremy and I knew we had to stop at Wilson’s most popular attraction. We knew it would be an egg-citing egg-perince, with plenty of chances to yolk around. So we hatched a plan. This might not make you laugh, but we ahem… cracked ourselves up.
So when is the best time to visit the egg? At the crack of dawn
This is no doubt a national treasure. Almost smack dab in the middle of Kansas… sits Wilson and its claim to international fame: The World’s Largest Hand-Painted Czech Egg. One thing I can say about this stop… It was hard to beat.
Talk about shell-shocked, this thing is a 22 foot tall egg with its own gazebo, and its own place in the hearts of the small Czech community. Dare I say it is located on the sunny side of the street?
The 8,000 pound egg was commissioned by the city to egg-spress the town’s heritage, which dates back to at least the 1870’s.
It was made in Hays and brought to Wilson in 2012. Local artist and egg-head, Christine Slechta, chose the design and painted it with the help of the community in April 2015. After completing the work… the town was egg-hausted. The city had shelled out $16,000 by the (egg) time(r) the project wrapped up in July 2016 with the completion of the gazebo in Shiroky Park.
And now much like a raw egg.. We must scramble and get back to our most egg-quisite road trip.
Interesting Note: Slechta is skilled in kraslice, which is the Czech art of egg decorating. The tradition of hand painting uncooked Easter eggs with beeswax and dye was brought to Kansas by migrants from Bohemia. If you want to learn more about eggs.. Check out the hen-cyclopedia.
And if you thought the egg puns were bad… Well egg-cuse me.
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