On Thursday, October 15, Thomas Dambo went back to a patch of forest on his own terms. He had walked the same ground the morning before with members of the Stanwood-Camano Troll steering committee, local tribal members and area historians. That Thursday was set aside for the artist to think through the troll's shape, where it would sit and what story it would tell.
A Reuters photographer had caught him the day before, posing "in the forest on Camano Island." Dambo is the Danish recycling artist whose giant reclaimed-wood trolls stand in 19 countries. Right now he and his team are designing ours. The design and development phase runs from late October through December 2026.
Once the design is done, the rest depends on the community. The opening date, the path through the woods, the meals for the build crew and much of the lumber will come from people who live here. Of all the parts of this project, those are the ones moving this winter.
The date is a fundraising number
In early October the build was planned for October 2027. On October 30, the committee moved its target to April 2027, six months sooner, with one condition: "The April date depends on raising the remaining funds."
According to the Stanwood Camano News, the goal is $600,000 and half had been raised. The first $75,000 came from the Daughters of Norway's Ingeborg Lodge in Stanwood and the Stanwood-Camano Area Foundation, which is also the project's fiscal sponsor. That leaves roughly $300,000 to raise in the months before an April build. The money pays for more than wood. Donations also cover the building team's time, lodging and food.
The steering committee is giving too. "Every single one on the steering team has donated," Foundation Executive Director Natalie Hagglund told the Stanwood Camano News. "Everybody is fully invested, which is a big deal."
Sponsor levels run from $10,000 to $100,000. Gifts of any size are welcome, including recurring ones. Checks go to the Stanwood-Camano Area Foundation, PO Box 1209, Stanwood, WA 98292, with "Troll" in the memo line. The Foundation is a 501(c)(3), and the project describes gifts as tax deductible "as allowed by law." This is general information, not tax advice, so check how a gift fits your own return with your accountant.
The idea started in a Stanwood lodge
The troll began with the Ingeborg Lodge, which works to keep Scandinavian culture and heritage alive locally. Lodge president Tiffany Nelson had visited the six permanent trolls Dambo built around the Pacific Northwest in 2023 and wanted one closer to home. She explained the connection to the Stanwood Camano News:
"When our immigrants came, they also brought their myths around the trolls. And this one's not so scary."
More partners joined after that. Arrowhead Ranch hosted the October 14 reception, where about 75 donors and supporters met Dambo. The Camano Island Chamber of Commerce connects the project with island businesses. In September, Stanwood Mayor Sid Roberts sent a letter of support that names local restaurants, shops and lodging as likely to benefit. The letter is support only and comes with no city money. The troll will not stand inside Stanwood city limits.
"We need all of us," Nelson said in the same article. "That was the goal, too, that it would bring people together, to bring it here and to love it up after."
Where island hands come in
A Dambo troll is built in two places. The heads, hands and feet are made at Ranch Dambo, his studio in the Danish countryside. The body is built from raw materials near its permanent site. The on-site build takes about a week. The committee says much of the wood is gathered from the community, so it is already collecting offers of reclaimed lumber.
Between the project's posts and the Stanwood Camano News coverage, the committee has named these needs:
- Reclaimed wood, tools and materials. You can offer them through the contact form on stanwoodcamanotroll.com. Dambo's trolls have been built from recycled hardwoods, scrap lumber and fallen branches.
- Meals during the build. The crew needs feeding for the week it is on site.
- Clearing the forest path that will lead visitors to the troll.
- Building birdhouses. Dambo uses them to mark the way to his trolls.
- Fundraising help. Volunteers can sign up through the project's volunteer form.
The location will stay secret because, in the committee's words, "Trolls like to be found by curious people who wander." Once it is built, the troll will be permanent, free and open to everyone. Anyone who clears brush or builds a birdhouse will be among the few who know the way in before opening day. The committee plans an event in early 2027 to unveil a rendering of the troll.
Twelve trolls to visit while ours is on paper
You don't have to wait until April to see Dambo's work. The traveling exhibition TROLLS: A Field Study opened October 15 and runs through January 24, 2027. It has 12 trolls, each 7 to 9 feet tall, split between two Pierce County parks. Viewing is included with general admission or membership. The premise is that the trolls have come to study humans. A troll named Taks leads the group.
| Where | Trolls | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| Northwest Trek Wildlife Park, Eatonville | 8 | Spread along wooded trails and habitat areas. Some sit just off the main path. The park also has a 435-acre free-roaming area with bison and elk, toured by tram. |
| Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium, Tacoma | 4 | Tucked into the zoo grounds. Daytime admission is $25 online or $32 at the gate for adults, $23 or $30 for seniors, and $17 or $22 for ages 3 to 12. |
The two parks are about an hour apart by car, so the troll committee suggests planning two separate outings.
The permanent troll closest to the island is Frankie Feetsplinters, who has stood outside the National Nordic Museum in Ballard since September 2023. Seattle's Child reports limited free street parking for one to two hours, or museum parking at $2 an hour. Frankie was one of the six trolls in Northwest Trolls: Way of the Bird King, along with trolls on Bainbridge Island, on Vashon Island, in Issaquah, in West Seattle and in Portland. Dambo's troll map shows all of them.
When Reuters filmed Dambo here in October, he described what he hopes these sculptures do: "I want people to get outside. I want people to experience community." The Reuters video runs with that line.
The heritage behind it, at the table this season
The Scandinavian roots behind the troll also show up on Stanwood's holiday calendar. Fritjov Lodge, the Sons of Norway lodge in Stanwood, lists these events on its site:
- November 19, 6 p.m.: lefse cooking class at the lodge in Stanwood. Tools and supplies are provided. $25.
- December 1, 6 p.m.: a class on seven kinds of Scandinavian cookies. $25.
- December 5: Lutefisk Dinner at Norway Hall. Social at 3 p.m., dinner at 4 p.m. Tickets are $40, or $15 for children 12 and under. Non-members can buy tickets in November, and none are sold at the door. The menu includes lutefisk, meatballs and gravy, lefse, pickled herring and almond cake.
The lodge describes the dinner as "a popular event," so reserve by phone through the contacts listed on its site.
I've lived on Camano for decades and seen plenty of ideas come to the island, but few have asked this many of us to bring a board, a meal or an afternoon of trail work. If you're one of them and you'd like to talk over how a project like this fits with your own plans for your property here, I'd be glad to hear from you. CamanoIslandWaterfront offers a private consultation and valuation whenever the timing suits you.
