The trail opens on July 15th and runs until September 14th. There are 43 large and 53 small Peter Rabbit™ sculptures displayed across Newcastle and North Tyneside for nine weeks, organised by and raising funds for St Oswald’s Hospice who offers services to local adults, children and their families free of charge. It relies on charitable giving to keep its doors open.
The large sculptures have been designed and painted by artists, many of whom live and work in the North East. The smaller sculptures will be painted by local schools and youth groups, forming a mini trail displayed at indoor locations in small groups known as ‘fluffles’.
After the trail, there will be a weekend Farewell Event from 10–11 October, where people can gather to see all sculptures displayed together one final time. After this, the small sculptures will be returned to their schools for them to keep forever, and most of the large ones will go to an auction at Newcastle Civic Centre on Tuesday 14th October, where they will be sold to raise funds for St Oswald’s Hospice.
The trail’s Headline Partner is Newcastle City Council, with support from the North of Tyne Combined Authority. The Learning Programme is supported by Northumbrian Water, and the Community Programme Partner is North Standard. The trail is presented in partnership with Creative Producers Wild in Art and The World of Peter Rabbit™.
During the trail, people of all ages can follow the printed map or use a dedicated app to find the sculptures, located in parks, public buildings, streets and other well‑known parts of Newcastle and North Tyneside. They can use the code on each sculpture plinth to ‘unlock’ the sculpture on the app and access rewards and milestones. There is a dedicated Trail HQ at St Oswald’s Hospice’s event space, called ‘the space by St Oswald’s Hospice’ in Ouseburn where maps can be bought and a range of trail merchandise will be available as souvenirs.
There is a special ‘Memory Bench’ sculpture which will also be displayed as part of the trail at Newcastle Cathedral. Painted by artist Julia Stafford, ‘Meadow of Memories’ gave people the chance to dedicate a leaf on the bench as a lasting tribute to someone they love and miss, for a donation to St Oswald’s Hospice. After the trail, this bench will return to the hospice, where it will be permanently displayed in the peaceful gardens.
It’s free and accessible to all. It is a special way to celebrate St Oswald’s 40th anniversary, as well as the 160th anniversary of the birth of Beatrix Potter, creator of Peter Rabbit.
Tickets will be on sale for the Farewell and Auction events soon, as well as a range of specially created merchandise. All details can be found at www.talesonthetyne.co.uk
Friends of the Hatton 