The Pink Unicorn of Beacon was a man by the name of David Shelly, a local Beacon resident who moved to the area in 2016. The Pink Unicorn story begins on a snowy day in the winter of 2021, managing the snow in front of local Beacon businesses on the West end of town. He was snowblowing and a grateful building owner came out of her building and asked Dave “What do I owe you?”, and he replied, nothing, my dream is to do this dressed in a pink unicorn costume. A few weeks went by and one day in March of 2021, that pink unicorn costume arrived in the mail and the Pink Unicorn of Beacon was born.

The Pink Unicorn began walking the streets of Beacon on the weekends. He would walk around the famous Beacon Farmer’s Market, dancing with kids and spreading joy and laughter. From there he would walk from one end of Main Street to the other spreading happiness and giving Beacon a spark of special.

Dave would also spread joy sitting outside of the Marion Royael Gallery, handing out free flowers, free hugs, smiley face coasters as vouchers for free ice cream at Beacon Creamery and Zora Doras. He would set up dance circles on the sidewalk to get others to dance and laugh.

The Pink Unicorn did all of this, until, on October 15, 2023, the he showed symptoms of what would be diagnosed as an aggressive form of stage 4 brain cancer, known as glioblastoma multiforma. He would die two months later on December 15, 2023, leaving behind a legacy of joy, laughter-filled memories, and a promise from his wife Jill, to begin the Beacon Unicorn Fund