AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Country music legend Willie Nelson is expected to help unveil an 8-foot statue of himself in Austin.
The privately funded monument near a new music hall shows a relaxed Nelson holding a guitar. It will be dedicated on April 20, or 4/20, which happens to be slang for smoking marijuana. Nelson is a well-known advocate of legalizing marijuana and has been arrested several times for possessing it.
Capital Area Statues Inc. raised money for the statue. This is the third large-scale statue from the group, which is made up of prominent Texas writers, producers and musicians.
Lawrence Wright said the date was originally chosen because Nelson was scheduled to perform in Austin that night, but once the counterculture reference became clear, the group embraced it.
