Grounds for Sculpture offers surreal surprises

Before even getting out of your car, you start to question reality at Grounds for Sculpture.

- Stephanie Farr, Tribune News Service

Gary Garrido Schneider

Driving in, there's a group of people along the road holding a banner that reads “Hurrah Welcome,” and signs that say “We thought you'd never get here” and “I drink to your arrival.”

“Is this for me?” you may think. “How did they know I was coming? And why aren't they moving?” Then it hits you, perhaps a little later than it should have — these stiffs are statues. Just an hour outside Philadelphia, Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton, New Jersey, is one of my favourite weird and wonderful comers of this strange and beautiful world.

Here, it’s hard to tell the real people from the fake ones. Here, beloved paintings are brought to life and invite you to step inside and become a part of them. Here is where wonder — true, childlike wonder — awaits around every corner, if only you're open to it. I tell everyone I know about Grounds for Sculpture, and if they say they've never been or haven't heard of it, which a surprising number of Philadelphians do, I tell them they've got to go, because the magic that exists there is so rare in this world that you are powerfully overwhelmed to share it.

That's why I took three of my colleagues who were first timers to explore it last month. I'm also obviously biased, so I wanted to get the untainted opinions of my coworkers — reporter Michelle Myers and social media editors Esra Erol and Sam Stewart — for journalism’s sake. They are now as biased as I am.