A Herd of Elephants Is Coming to California’s Tri-Valley

This fall, a walk through downtown Livermore will offer an unexpected encounter: 30 life-size elephants gathered in the heart of California wine country.

The Great Elephant Migration will be on display from October 10 through December 6, 2026. The free outdoor exhibition invites visitors to explore the herd on foot and learn the stories behind each sculpture. Livermore is its only California stop this year.

These elephants have real counterparts. Indigenous artisans in southern India modeled each sculpture after a wild elephant they know from the Nilgiri Hills, where people and elephants live close together. The artists crafted the figures from Lantana camara, an invasive plant that crowds out native vegetation. Clearing the plant helps the forest recover; turning it into art creates work for the artisans and gives the material a new purpose.

That connection between the sculptures, their makers and the living elephants is at the center of the Migration. The traveling public art initiative uses storytelling to encourage a closer look at how people and wildlife can share space. Visitors can admire the herd’s scale and detail, then discover why each elephant has its own identity.

The exhibition also makes an inviting starting point for a Tri-Valley getaway. After seeing the elephants, travelers can linger over a meal in downtown Livermore or explore the region’s wineries, cultural attractions and nearby communities of Pleasanton, Dublin and Danville.

The elephants will appear in several walkable areas of downtown Livermore. Admission is free, and no ticket is required. For confirmed installation locations and trip planning details as the opening approaches, visit Visit Tri-Valley’s Great Elephant Migration page.