A pig sculpture waiting to be decorated.

The Lichfield Festival is currently recruiting community organisations, local businesses, schools and individuals to help with a new public art project set to launch at this year’s event. Not dissimilar to other projects in major cities, such as Liverpool’s Superlambbanana Parade during 2008 (its Capital of Culture year), the Pig Parade will comprise 30 hand-decorated pig sculptures, scattered throughout the district.

Groups can be made up of all ages and there is a fee of £100 per group, to cover the delivery of your pig mould, plus basic materials to paint and glaze it (this can be done on your own or in tandem with an artist). Once the pigs are completed and installed, visitors to the Festival can follow a Pig Trail, viewing all the sculptures in turn, while any schools which have taken part will be invited to take a tour of a real farm and learn about free-range farming.

The Pig Parade has been made possible by sponsorship from local farming institution Packington Pork, which will host school tours on its farm near Tamworth. This is the first time that the Mercer family, which has been farming locally since the 1930s, has sponsored the Festival. Rob Mercer said:

“We are delighted to be involved with the Festival as it celebrates its 30th birthday and this project is such a perfect match for us. We look forward to welcoming the public to the farm and to seeing the decorated pigs on their return.”

Organisers are currently on the lookout for prominent venues across Lichfield to host a pig sculpture for the duration of the Festival; if you can help with this, or if you want to get involved with decorating your own pig, please get in touch with the Festival’s Learning and Participation Team on Tel: 01543 306275 or by email [email protected].

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