The Cotswold town of Cirencester is bracing itself for an invasion of five foot hares but there is no need to panic as they will all be fibre glass models.
The hares are to be made as part of the inaugural Cirencester March Hare Festival taking place in 2014 and will be distributed around the town and surrounding areas creating an exciting and fun art trail. They will be decorated by local artists, schools and celebrities. Inspiration has been taken from other similar projects like the popular Gromit Unleashed trail in Bristol.
“They will be on pavements, in parks, restaurants and around landmarks,” explained March Hare Project leader Florence Beetlestone. “The idea is that local companies and businesses will want to sponsor a hare, they will then be decorated by their chosen artists to reflect their values and style before all going on display. You could have a hare outside your business or nominate a designated area for it to go.
“We hope it will really capture the imagination of the town and help boost our local economy and footfall,” she added.
The hares are available to sponsor now with three categories available. They are the business hare at £1,200, the premium hare, which is £4,000 and for corporate or principle sponsors and there will also be a limited amount of community hares which are available for shops, community groups that want to join together to sponsor one. There will also be a drove of 50 smaller, life-size hare models and these will be suitable for smaller businesses to sponsor, have beautifully decorated and display in shop windows, cafes and restaurants.
The event, which will commence in March next year is being run by the Cirencester Community Development Trust with proceeds from the sale of hares going to Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust for the development of the Churn walkway.
For more information, or to sponsor a hare please call 01285 655646 or visit the website www.cirencesterharefestival.co.uk.
