A few yards from the red carpet, the reunion was as raucous as a conga line and brighter than the folds of a flamenco dancer's skirt.

For a final time on March 30, the 15 sea turtle sculptures of the TurtleTrax public art project were exhibited together before being hauled to their permanent display locations. Arranged in an arc on an emerald lawn, the sculptures and their artists awaited their moment in the spotlight.

The event, the TurtleTrax Hall of Fame Ceremony, marked the end of the fundraiser, which raised more than $150,000 for the Mental Health Association during its three-month run.

"Nowhere is a turtle more poetic than when it's painted and up for sale," sang Sandi Lardani and Paul Amaru, performers with the Vero Beach Theatre Guild's Guild on the Go program. Their song, "There's No Business Like Turtle Business," a twist on "There's No Business Like Show Business," thanked the dozens of artists and sponsors who donated money, time and talent to turn the two seasons of the project into a riot of fanciful designs and Crayola hues.

At the ceremony, held on the Heritage Center lawn, the artists and sponsors each received a Goldie, a chubby, four-inch-high sea turtle statuette nearly identical to the six-foot-tall public sculptures, and done up in a shade of Oscar gold.

"What a wonderful way to end this two-year event," said Kristine Sarkauskus, the Mental Health Association's president and chief executive officer, adding that the amount raised by TurtleTrax this year could rise. To raise money for the nonprofit organization, teams from across Indian River County rounded up at least $10,000 apiece for the turtles.

"[The turtles] cause such a commotion," Ms. Sarkauskus said.

During the first season of TurtleTrax, 52 of the fiberglass sculptures were auctioned, raising about $550,000. The Mental Health Association, which provides crisis counseling and mental health care, launched TurtleTrax in late 2005.

At the Friday afternoon ceremony, where a gray, moody sky contrasted with the vibrant sculptures, attendees wandered down a red carpet to accept their Goldies.

"We've built up such a strong group of relationships with the artistic and philanthropic communities in town," said Barbara Hammond, the project's chairwoman and the head of the Mental Health Association Board of Directors.

To cap the event, organizers unveiled Neptune, a 16th sculpture that will be displayed at the Mental Health Association headquarters on 37th Street. The turtle, conceived as an outsized thank-you to the TurtleTrax artists and sponsors, sits atop a base enrobed in blue glass baubles. On both sides of the shell, Barbara Sharp painted sea turtles, angelfish and other marine life.

"We ordered a couple of extra turtles in case of any calamities," Ms. Hammond explained.

When it became apparent the spares wouldn't be needed, the association sent one to Ms. Sharp and asked her to craft the finale-making turtle.

The Vero Beach artist, who channeled Monet and Van Gogh for some of her other TurtleTrax sculptures, inscribed sponsors' names on sand dollars - "to represent the dollars they spent," she said - and crowned Neptune with coral and spiky shells. The names of the artists ring the sculpture's midsection.

TurtleTrax, Ms. Sarkauskus said, will now go on hiatus. The sea turtle, however, will remain a key part of the Mental Health Association's marketing and fundraising efforts.

"The turtle," Ms. Sarkauskus said, "will be around in some shape or form."

Hall of Fame Turtle "Neptune"

Neptune Sponsors

Neptune Artists

Neptune Artists