Need something to do with the family? Hunt for five giant trolls around the Seattle area. Thomas Dambo’s giant trolls are awake and ready to be discovered.
Team of artists rejoice as they finish making the huge troll sculpture.
The giant troll project
The Bainbridge Island troll was the first in a series of five gigantic trolls Dambo has built for the Seattle area. The other trolls are in West Seattle, Issaquah, Vashon Island, and Ballard.
The public art installations are free to visit … if you can find them. Dambo’s thing is building giant wooden trolls, and hiding them in nature for people to discover. The secrecy is part of the game, but we’re here to give you a couple hints.
Artist Thomas Dambo walks away from the giant troll that seated cross-legged.
Bainbridge’s troll (and clues to find her)
The Bainbridge troll, named Pia the Peacekeeper, is Dambo’s 121st troll. Go to Trollmap.com for a world map with the approximate locations of each troll.
Here’s what we can tell you: the Bainbridge troll sits in a park about a mile from the ferry terminal. There’s a tall pole with colorful birdhouses at the park entrance. Friends of the Bainbridge Troll also posted a few clues on its website. Nwtrolls.org also has a customized adventure app for each location. It’s an online scavenger hunt to send you on your own troll hunt.
“It’s a perfect way to engage all generations,” says Fidelma McGinn, president of the sponsoring company, Scan Design Foundation. “From grandparents to toddlers, everybody has a different reaction. But the ‘wow’ factor is independent of age.”
About the giant troll project
The Pacific Northwest troll project, “Northwest Trolls: Way of the Bird King,” has been in the works for several years. It’s commissioned by the Scan Design Foundation, a cultural group that promotes American-Danish relations. Dambo and his wife came to scout sites in 2021, and then he returned to confirm the locations and concepts.
Dambo builds the trolls’ faces in his Copenhagen studio and the bodies on-site. The sculptures are made entirely of recycled materials and range from 15 to 20 feet tall. They’re meant to encourage us to get outside, inspire us to protect nature, and remind us that even garbage can become a resource.
Why giant trolls?
McGinn describes Dambo as “the Pied Piper of trolls.” Why trolls?
“He grew up with those stories and fairy tales as a kid. They’re very much steeped in the Nordic tradition of storytelling,” McGinn said. “If you’re not behaving as a kid, there’s a suggestion that the trolls can get you.”
Pia the Peacekeeper sits on the ground with her hands held out, playing with small human puppets. Note: You are the puppet. Go ahead and step into the troll’s grasp.
Who’s going to see the giant trolls? There’s no rush
As the crew cleaned up wood scraps and tools at the building site, a bicyclist paused his ride long enough to snap a photo. Families showed up with kids. A man with a walker and a rainbow outfit wheeled up for a photo op. The troll’s location is an open secret. The trolls will stay at each site for at least three years, up to 15 years (and open for discussion after 15 years).
Dambo’s wish for Seattleites is that troll-hunting will be a fun and positive experience.
“I hope they smile,” Dambo said. “I hope they’ll get some of the whimsy, fairytale in their life.”
Dambo started his cross-country tour in June 2023, traveling with his wife and their twin 1-year-old boys in an RV nicknamed the Trollercoaster. It was a 10-stop, 10-troll, road trip across the U.S., documented on his YouTube channel.
Our neighboring giant trolls and the team
A Portland troll — Dambo’s first PNW troll, named Ole-Bolle is located in the garden behind Nordia House and is made of reclaimed wood and old pallets. Ole-Bolle lifts the roof of a red cabin like a cookie jar to peek inside. Read more about the Portland troll.
Dambo travels with a crew of 10 from Denmark, and hordes of volunteers pitch in along the way. He’s staying in a borrowed house, driving a borrowed minivan. One volunteer is an artist from Arizona, another is a museum exhibit designer from San Francisco, and another is a long-time Dambo fan thrilled the artist is building a troll in her hometown.
Dawn Janow describes the troll construction as a “stone soup project.” The wood pallets were donated, and the troll’s hair is made of clippings from an apple orchard in Poulsbo. Her friend from yoga class brought lunch for everyone.
Officially, Janow is a member of the Bainbridge Island Park Board of Commissioners. Unofficially, she couldn’t resist helping out on the project.
“Why are we doing this?” Janow recalls someone asking at a meeting. “How about… joy!”
Trolling for happiness and joy
Dambo built his first troll nine years ago. It was a temporary installation, made for a music festival in Denmark. Another troll, in Puerto Rico, was swept away by Hurricane Maria. The idea of leaving wood sculptures sitting outside in the soggy PNW doesn’t bother him.
“It’s like your food,” Dambo says, gesturing to the volunteer who brought lunch for the crew. “Doesn’t last forever, but it makes people happy.”
Know before you go
- Pia the Peacekeeper is located at Sakai Park on Bainbridge Island, one mile from the ferry.
- There is limited parking. Be sure to get there early to grab a spot.
- The sculpture will be at the park for the next three years or more.
