Community rallies for return of beloved Mr. Pickles, a beacon of resilience in RAD

    ASHEVILLE, North Carolina (WLOS) -- For a year, the iconic Mr. Pickles was a staple in Marquee.

"Mr. Pickles, the clown was nine feet tall — it was fiberglass," said Marquee founder Robert Nicholas.

When Helene destroyed the River Arts District, sitting atop a pile of rubble for months, he became a beacon of hope.

Nicholas bought Mr. Pickles from an antique market in Atlanta and kept the name.

"I know that the name is funny, but that's what he was called when I bought him," Nicholas said. "It just became this huge, iconic representation of something that was found and something that was cool, and it just fit so well inside the home of Marquee."

The storm decimated Marquee, and Mr. Pickles ended up a quarter-mile down the road.

"Later that day, I saw him up on this pile of rubble, and it just made me smile to think that someone rescued him, someone put him up, and as the days after that went by people would put signs up," Nicholas said. "There was a sign that said 'hope,' which was photographed and seen all over nationally, and I thought it was a good representation of hope, and it made people smile as they went by."

He lived on top of the rubble pile for two months until strong winds knocked him down and damaged his arm.

Nicholas then moved him closer to Marquee on top of one of the Foundy Street art installation slabs.

"It seemed like a perfect spot," Nicholas said.

Days later, Nicholas said Mr. Pickles was stolen.

"Whether it was a prank or whether it was malicious, it was intentional, and it was just one more thing to add; it's like throwing salt into an injury," Nicholas said. "He belongs to Marquee, we want him back."

Nicholas tells News 13 he has not yet filed a police report with the Asheville Police Department but plans to.