Big Ole Is Going Blonde: Alexandria's Viking Gets Repaired and Repainted in Spring 2027
Alexandria voted, and it was not close: Big Ole's hair and beard go blonde in a spring 2027 repair and repaint. The vote numbers, the plan, and how to see him before and after.
Big Ole Is Going Blonde: Alexandria's Viking Gets Repaired and Repainted in Spring 2027
Alexandria has settled the most local question of the year. Big Ole, the 28-foot Viking who has stood over downtown since the 1960s, is getting repairs and a full repaint in spring 2027, and the public got to pick his new hair color. Blonde won with 73 percent of 5,651 votes cast, announced October 9, 2026. If you have a photo with him in his current colors, spring is your deadline. If you want the first photo with the blonde version, spring is your trip.
This is the news version of the story. Our half-day history guide to Big Ole and the Kensington Runestone covers the full visit; this post covers what changed, what happens next, and how to plan around it from a base on Lake Miltona, about 15 to 20 minutes north of the park.
The Vote: 5,651 Ballots, and Blonde Was Never in Doubt
For several months leading into the fall of 2026, anyone could vote on the new color for Big Ole's hair and beard. The ballot had four options: blonde, red, gray, or brown. The result, reported by the Alexandria Echo Press, was a landslide: blonde took 73 percent of the 5,651 votes cast.
That margin matters for visitors, because it means the change is the town's own choice, not a designer's whim. Barbara Haacke, executive director of the Runestone Museum, announced the result. The museum is the right announcer: Big Ole stands at 200 Broadway Street, directly across from the museum at 206 Broadway Street, and the two have been a pair since he came home from the World's Fair.
One honest limit on this story: as of this writing in November 2026, no exact repaint date in spring 2027 has been published, and no contractor or cost figure for this round of work has been announced in the sources we checked. What is confirmed is the season, spring 2027, the scope, repairs plus a repaint, and the color, blonde hair and beard. Anyone who gives you a specific week is guessing. We will update this post when the museum publishes dates.
Who Is Big Ole, for Anyone Meeting Him the First Time?
Big Ole is a 28-foot fiberglass Viking holding a spear and a shield that reads "Alexandria, Birthplace of America." He was built for the 1964-1965 New York World's Fair, where he accompanied the Kensington Runestone exhibit, and he was trucked home to Alexandria when the fair closed.
The stone is why he exists. In 1898, farmer Olof Ohman reported finding a carved stone on his farm near Kensington, southwest of Alexandria. Its inscription describes Norse explorers in Minnesota in 1362, more than a century before Columbus. Scholars have argued about the stone's authenticity ever since, and Alexandria built its identity on the argument: the Runestone Museum to hold the stone, and a 28-foot Viking to hold the attention.
Ole has not had a quiet life. Fiberglass outdoors in Minnesota takes a beating, and he has needed repeated repairs over the decades. The most recent full round before this one started in 2015, when an inspection found cracks in his fiberglass body; the town raised $26,000 for the repair, and the makeover was completed in August 2016. The spring 2027 work is the next turn of that same cycle: fix what the weather has opened up, then repaint, this time in the color the town voted for.
He has also moved. Ole stood for years on a traffic island at the north end of Broadway, and in 2002 he was moved a short distance to his current home in Big Ole Central Park, on the south shore of Lake Agnes. That move gave him the setting he has now: a real park, the lake behind him, and room for a crowd to gather underneath for a photo.
Where He Stands: Big Ole Central Park in Every Season
The park at 200 Broadway Street is free and open year-round, and it does more work than a statue park usually does:
- It is the Central Lakes Trail trailhead. The 55-mile paved trail runs from the park through Alexandria toward Osakis and Fergus Falls, and it connects at Osakis to the Lake Wobegon Trail for 117 continuous paved miles. In winter, snowmobiles use the trail, so winter walkers should expect company.
- It hosts the Alexandria Farmers Market three times a week in summer and fall, plus a Saturday art market in summer.
- It has a fishing pier and a musical playground, which is why the photo stop turns into a half hour for families.
- In winter, the park becomes a community ice rink, so a November or February visit still has a reason to linger after the photo.
The deep guide to things to do in Alexandria places Big Ole in the full town picture, indoor stops included, for the days when the park is the start of the outing rather than the whole of it.
How to Visit Before the Repaint, and After
This winter and early spring (the before photo). Ole is in his current colors until the work starts. A winter stop pairs naturally with the Runestone Museum across the street: the Kensington Runestone itself, Fort Alexandria's historic buildings, and the 40-foot Viking ship Snorri. Museum admission is listed at $10 for adults, $9 for seniors, $7 for students, and $25 for a family, and hours change by season, so call 320-763-3160 or check runestonemuseum.org before you go. Skate the park rink while you are there, then eat downtown. Our Alexandria restaurants guide covers the Broadway blocks around the park.
Spring 2027 (the work). Expect scaffolding or a wrapped statue for part of the season. That is not a ruined stop; a 28-foot Viking in mid-makeover is its own photo, and the museum, the trail, and the market all run as usual. If seeing him finished is the point of your trip, wait for the museum's completion announcement rather than booking against a guessed date.
Summer 2027 (the after photo). The blonde Ole, fresh paint, market season in the park, and the trail at its best. This is the version that will stand in family photos for the next decade, and the first summer is when the before-and-after pair is easiest to complete if you took the before shot this winter.
Staying Near Big Ole: The Lake Miltona Base
Big Ole Park is about 15 to 20 minutes from Lake Miltona, close enough that the statue stop folds into a town run rather than becoming its own expedition. That is how most cabin groups do it: Big Ole and the museum in the late morning, lunch on Broadway, groceries on the way out of town, and back at the lake for the afternoon.
The cabin itself is built for the group version of that trip: 11 beds in 4 bedrooms, plus a main floor sofa bed, sleeps 12, with 2 full bathrooms, plus an outdoor rain shower with hot water. Grandparents sleep on the main level on the sofa bed with a bathroom nearby, there are no stairs from the road in, and they can watch the kids from the decks and the large windows. After a cold morning at the park rink, the cedar sauna, which seats 6 to 8, is the rotation the whole group cycles through. In summer, the pontoon is a paid add-on to a cabin booking only, a 25-foot Premier Sunsation that seats 14; it is never included, but once added it is at the cabin ready to go on arrival.
Minimum stay is 4 nights in peak season; shorter stays are fine in the off season, which makes a winter before-photo weekend or a spring reveal trip easy to fit. Check availability and book direct when your dates are set.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is Big Ole being repainted?
In spring 2027. Repairs and a repaint are planned for that season; no exact start or finish date had been published as of November 10, 2026. Check the Runestone Museum for the schedule as spring approaches.
What color will Big Ole's hair be?
Blonde, for both his hair and his beard. In a public vote announced October 9, 2026, blonde received 73 percent of 5,651 votes cast. The other options on the ballot were red, gray, and brown.
How tall is Big Ole and where does he stand?
Big Ole is a 28-foot fiberglass Viking. He stands in Big Ole Central Park at 200 Broadway Street in Alexandria, Minnesota, on the south shore of Lake Agnes, across the street from the Runestone Museum and at the trailhead of the Central Lakes Trail.
Does it cost anything to see Big Ole?
No. The park and the statue are free. The Runestone Museum across the street charges admission, listed at $10 for adults, $9 for seniors, $7 for students, and $25 for a family, with seasonal hours, so call ahead.
How far is Big Ole from Lake Miltona?
About 15 to 20 minutes by car. Most guests at the cabin on Lake Miltona combine Big Ole, the Runestone Museum, and a downtown Alexandria lunch into one town run.
Sources
- Alexandria Echo Press, "A color has been chosen for Big Ole's hair and beard," reporting 73 percent of 5,651 votes for blonde, other options red, gray, and brown, announced October 9, 2026 (via Muck Rack author page for Celeste Edenloff, checked November 10, 2026).
- Program research file, things-to-do-and-golf-research-2026-11-09.md: repairs and repaint in spring 2027, park details at 200 Broadway Street, Runestone Museum admission at 206 Broadway Street.
- Explore Alexandria, Big Ole Central Park listing: 28-foot statue, Lake Agnes shore, Central Lakes Trail trailhead, shield wording, farmers market three times a week in summer and fall (checked November 10, 2026).
- Place registry, legendarylogcabin.com program files: Big Ole moved to the park in 2002; Runestone Museum contact and exhibits.
Photo: DrReload, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.