Follow That Pig! Rachel’s Seattle Tour

Pike Place Market’s  famous and much-loved “unofficial” mascot Rachel the Piggybank has successfully recovered from injuries sustained in a car accident and will be en route back to her home at the Market the week of March 13^th.  But, while she’s still hoof-loose and cement-free, Rachel’s going to take a rock star-type tour of some of her favorite Seattle spots before heading home for good.

Rachel became a Pike Place Market mainstay in 1986, where she greets the public under the Market’s famous clock and sign.  As a working piggybank, all proceeds go to the Market Foundation to raise money and awareness for the four human service agencies based in the Market Historic District (Pike Market Medical Clinic, Pike Market Food Bank, Pike Market Childcare & Preschool and the Pike Market Senior Center). 

Life took a strange little turn the morning of February 5^th, when a rear-ended taxicab lost control on rain-soaked streets and plowed into a wall of construction fencing at the Market—and also into Rachel. The 550-pound bronze-cast pig was knocked off the pins securing her to the cement and flew about 10 feet, landing on her left side.  

Rachel didn’t die, of course, but she did suffer injuries which needed  a good dose of tender loving care.  She sustained a number of scrapes and small abrasions, but the most serious damage was a 10-inch crack along the top of her left ear and a large dent on her left side.  Fortunately, the dent was a shallow one.  The crack was welded, the abrasions were sanded, and all is well again.  Who did the repair work?  A team of three led by Rachel’s “mom”—her creator, Whidbey Island artist Georgia Gerber.   

Rachel will be zipping around town on the back of the Market’s vintage 1936 farm truck.  Follow the hoofprints down the side of this article for her appearance schedule.  After her final stop at Westlake Plaza, Rachel will return to a hero’s welcome at the Market, scheduled around 1:30 p.m.   We do say “hero” because there could have been a lot more damage done to the Market had she and the construction wall not stopped the car. 

Pike Place Market’s $68.6 million renovation is going strong, and it’s still estimated that everything will be completed by May, 2011.  In the meantime, there is constant movearound of the shops and restaurants in all Market buildings. Their website can keep you updated on the latest news, and you can even register online to get weekly updates on the renovation and the affected businesses for that time period.  In the meantime, enjoy some Rachel-spotting!