For months, downtown Highland Park shoppers have seen butterflies around town.

More than two dozen giant, colorful, one-of-a-kind butterfly sculptures, crafted by local artists for Project Butterfly will be auctioned off at The Butterfly Silent Auction Event Friday from 7 p.m. until 9 p.m., at The Art Center (TAC).

A collaboration of local artists, property owners and retailers, the butterflies are each about three feet across by two feet high and three inches thick. They have been displayed outdoors along Central Avenue and other other downtown areas. Some were accompanied by poems written or selected by the artists, and some written by local children.

With different motifs, color palettes and textures, “you could see them going in many places” throughout the home, said Victoria Mecklenburger, an artist herself who works on TAC’s events and membership.

The Butterfly Silent Auction Event will also feature live poetry, jazz, and a caricaturist.

Sponsored by Hillco Realty and Pam and Larry Hillman, admission is free and RSVP’s should be made with Jennifer Barrows, at (847) 432-1888, ext. 1, or jbarrows@theartcenterhp.org.