ENHANCING OUR COMMUNITY THROUGH PUBLIC ART
Public Art Projects
The RG RIO Ashton Welch Memorial Surfboard Sculpture
The RG RIO Ashton Welch Memorial Surfboard sculpture was installed at Centennial Park in Canon City, Colorado on April 26th, 2026. Read more below about the inspiration, history, and development of this project!
A Legacy of Conservation
Royal Gorge River Initiative Organization had its inaugural Arkansas River clean up event in April of 2021. Since our founding in 2019, river conservation had been a primary mission, but when the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the world, we were forced to wait. While our first river clean-up event was a surprising success, we had relatively few volunteers.
Two of these volunteers were local teenagers, Ashton L Welch (left) and Jaden Morgan (right), friends and seniors at Canon City High School. These young men filled bag after bag, with some of the nastiest garbage imaginable, scouring the banks, even competing with one another as to who could find the most disgusting trophy. It's unclear who won, but at the end of the day, the river was a cleaner and more beautiful place. After this first event, Royal Gorge RIO has engaged thousands of local volunteers and removed over five tons of trash from the Arkansas River corridor.
Inspired Through Tragedy
Ashton Welch was never again allowed to help. On November 15th, 2022, Ashton was tragically killed by a drunk driver. Ashton was a gifted artist, talented musician, and to everyone who knew him, he was a faithful and caring friend, a loving son, brother, uncle, and an exceptional student. Even as a child, he displayed compassion for others, a love of nature, and a desire to impact the world for the better. For his Senior Capstone project at Canon City High School, Ashton created an original clothing brand Sick-A-Mok 1. His intention for this company was to support mental health and suicide prevention programs with the profits, having personally witnessed the psychological trauma, isolation, and fear the COVID-19 pandemic wrought on his generation.
In 2023, the Welch Family proposed to donate a public art installation to honor the work of Royal Gorge RIO to be dedicated in Ashton's memory. The conceptual proposal for the Surfboard, designed by local artist and RG RIO board member, Martin C Welch, was first presented to Canon City in the October of 2023. The proposal was well received, but there was no mechanism for approval as the Canon City Public Arts Committee had been disbanded. This proposal triggered re-forming the committee from scratch, a laborious year long process that required notices, interviews, and the development of criteria and procedures. Proudly, ours was the first proposal approved by the new committee, and the hard part began.
Trust the Process
What started with a vague idea rendered as a hastily drawn sketch would take nearly two more years of conceptual designs and mockups, sourcing materials, and many long, grimy, deafening shop hours to come into being. Incredibly, no one was maimed in the process.
Each stage of construction proved a challenge. The Surfboard stands nearly nine feet tall by three feet wide, made completely from high grade stainless steel. The 'rails' of the surfboard are four-inch diameter stainless steel tubing bent to an exact radius. This was accomplished by Longero in Denver, CO, one of the only companies in the United States with such capability. The board is sheathed with custom formed perforated stainless steel sheets, and the most ‘striking’ feature- the lightning bolt- is constructed from 2x4 rectangular stainless steel tubing, cut by hand to impossibly sharp angles. The memorial plaque, acting as the board's 'traction pad', is custom solid forged aluminum contracted by International Bronze of Fort Meyers, Fl, an American company in business since 1936.
Thanks in large part to the incredible skill of Bruce Lemoine, the main fabricator, the Surfboard was completed in February 2026. With valuable input from the Canon City Public Arts Committee, it was decided to install the Surfboard on a large river boulder to harmonize with the existing river bank improvements. Sitting forlorn in the mud on an overgrown lot about 100 yards from the site was a perfect, solid granite behemoth set deftly in place with invaluable help from Jesse Young and the Canon City Parks Department. Mark Handeland of Handeland Concrete then expertly prepared the stone for mounting.
Vision Realized
On April 10th, 2026, the Surfboard was installed at Centennial Park in Canon City, Colorado. The official dedication occurred on April 26th, 2026, coinciding with RG RIO’s sixth annual River Cleanup Event. Hundreds of volunteers, as well as Ashton’s friends and family all attended the dedication showing their incredible support for the community of Canon City, RG RIO, and the Welch Family.
Today, what started as an impulse borne from grief, then to a pile of sharp, rigid raw material, now stands as a unified flowing form pulled straight from the waves, ready to take its place among other iconic Canon City attractions and points of interest.
The Surfboard symbolizes the dynamism and energy of the river itself, as well as the power we have to work together for something better when united in a common cause. The Surfboard’s lightning bolt is open, providing a window to the future when looking upriver, and a window to the past when looking downriver, allowing is to look forward with anticipation while also cherishing memories and gaining inspiration from past achievements.
Thanks again to all who helped support and bring this project to completion!
Transforming the River Landscape.
Are you passionate about river recreation and conservation? Join us in making a difference by volunteering with Royal Gorge RIO at our enhanced Whitewater Park. Help us maintain and improve these cutting-edge facilities, ensuring that they provide exciting opportunities for surf enthusiasts at higher water levels. Together, we can create a thriving community of river stewards and adventure seekers.