SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--CowParade, the world's largest and foremost public art event, is kicking off plans for its California debut in San Diego, celebrating local artists' work and benefiting three local charities.

CowParade San Diego will feature 200 life-sized fiberglass cows transformed by artists from San Diego and Tijuana and displayed around San Diego's premier outdoor locations for three months – Jan. 3 through March 31, 2009. The cows will dot the region's landscape and become an important tourism attraction and weekend outing for local families. More than 1 million people are expected to visit the cows in San Diego. Local businesses, hotels, restaurants and retailers will sponsor the cows individually or in multiple cow "herds."

"I appreciate the creative thinking that has gone into this fundraising event. The beneficiaries of this effort are important cornerstones of our community," said San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders. "Helping them meet their financial needs is a worthy goal, and everyone involved in CowParade San Diego, from the artists and their sponsors right on through to general public coming to view the cows, should be commended for their support."

An auction of the top 50 cows — to be held at the end of the exhibition — will raise funds to benefit Rady Children's Hospital, The Zoological Society of San Diego and the Balboa Park Cultural Partnership. It is estimated the post-exhibition auction will generate hundreds of thousands of dollars for the local nonprofit organizations.

Through an open "call-to-artists" in the San Diego/Tijuana region — which began June 10 — CowParade San Diego intends to cast a wide net for a diverse range of artists from the San Diego area. An array of artists – painters, sculptors, craftsmen and multi-media artists – ranging from well-known to emerging will be selected to participate in the exhibition. Each artist whose design is selected for the exhibition will be provided with a life-sized, blank fiberglass cow form and will be paid a $1,000 honorarium upon completion and approval of their transformed cow.