A giant troll sculpture is coming to Camano Island sooner than originally planned.

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Thomas Dambo, an internationally renowned Danish recycling artist, builds giant troll creations across the globe.

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The Stanwood-Camano community will be getting its own troll in April 2027.

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The troll’s exact location will remain a mystery until further notice. Finding it will be a free, family-friendly adventure.

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Since 2014, Dambo and his team of builders have placed nearly 200 trolls in 19 countries. Every build is part of his goal to have a troll in all 50 U.S. states and 1,000 across the world.

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“I immediately loved their artistic differences and how they’re constructed,” said Tiffany Nelson, president of the Daughters of Norway’s Ingeborg Lodge in Stanwood.

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The trolls’ heads, hands and feet are put together at Ranch Dambo, the team’s studio and creative hub lurking in the Danish countryside, while the sculptures’ bodies are constructed from raw materials near their permanent sites.

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The idea to bring Dambo’s artistry to the Stanwood-Camano started with the Ingeborg Lodge, which is dedicated to the local preservation of Scandinavian culture and heritage.

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After visiting the existing six permanent trolls in the Pacific Northwest, Nelson said she knew she wanted one of Dambo’s signature pieces closer to home.

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“When our immigrants came, they also brought their myths around the trolls,” Nelson said. “And this one’s not so scary.”

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From Oct. 13-15, Dambo and his family visited the area to explain the mission of the project, meet with donors and tour the sculpture’s proposed site.

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Donations totaling $75,000 from Ingeborg Lodge and the Stanwood-Camano Area Foundation, or S-CAF, provided the anchor for the project.

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S-CAF is the project’s fiscal sponsor, meaning donations to fund Dambo and his team’s work are routed through them.

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“Every single one on the steering team has donated,” S-CAF Executive Director Natalie Hagglund said of the Stanwood-Camano Troll Committee. “Everybody is fully invested, which is a big deal. They believe in it.”

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So far, half of the $600,000 donation goal has been reached. Every donation comes with a charitable receipt.

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Besides funding the troll’s construction, donations help compensate for the building team’s time, lodging and food.

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“(Dambo) just truly cares about whimsy and making magical art, but also sustainability,” Hagglund said.

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Dambo’s trolls are also known to boost tourism. More than 12 million people have traveled to see one of Dambo’s giant “trash” sculptures in person, each with its own name and inspired backstory, according to his website.

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Though the troll won’t be within the city limits of Stanwood, the city was part of the conversation early on.

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In September, Mayor Sid Roberts sent a letter of support to the project’s steering committee.

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The Stanwood-Camano Troll’s other partners include the Camano Island Chamber of Commerce and Arrowhead Ranch.

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“We need all of us,” Nelson said. “That was the goal, too, that it would bring people together, to bring it here and to love it up after.”

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The public’s next sneak peek of the troll will be in a future meeting announcing Dambo’s design. The meeting’s date has yet to be confirmed.

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The troll’s construction takes about a week, but there are also opportunities to clean the path through the forest that will lead to the troll or to build the birdhouses Dambo uses as wayfinders.

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To learn more about donating money, tools or resources to the project, or volunteering to prepare the troll’s site, visit stanwoodcamanotroll.com.