Paint a pig - or give one a home
 
Thirty pigs are coming to town for the 30th Lichfield Festival, and you can have a chance to decorate one - or give one a temporary home.

We are currently recruiting community organisations, local businesses, schools and individuals to help with the Lichfield Pig Parade.

Following in the footsteps of similar projects in Bath, London and other major cities across the world, this is a public art project designed to get everyone talking. Thanks to generous sponsorship from local farming institution, Packington Pork, Lichfield and the surrounding District will play home in July to 30 large pig sculptures, all individually decorated. 

Groups can be made up of all ages and you may wish to team up with others local to yourselves to participate. The Festival will provide you with a pig sculpture, glazing materials and information on the project. The rest is up to you!

You can choose to decorate the Pig yourselves or team up with a local artist. There is a fee of £100 per group to cover provision and delivery of the pig mould plus basic essential materials.

Quite a few pigs have already been snapped up, but there are still a few available, so if you are interested please don't delay.

Visitors will be able to follow the Lichfield Festival's Pig Trail visiting all the sculptures in turn during their installation. Schools taking part will also be invited to take a farm tour courtesy of Packington Pork, where they will meet real, happy, free-range  pigs. There will even be a chance to purchase your favourite decorated pig at the Pig Parade Auction.

We are also looking for prominent venues across the City to host a pig for the duration of the Lichfield Festival in July and to appear on our Pig Trail maps. If you can help us with this, please let us know.

Packington Pork are first-time sponsors at the Lichfield Festival, but jumped at the chance to be involved in the Pig Parade. Well-known in the area, the Mercer family has been farming since the 1930s, balancing economic success in harmony with the countryside. Rob Mercer says: "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."

If you would like your group or school to be involved in decorating one of the Lichfield Festival Pigs, or of would like to host a painted pig, please contact the Festival's Learning and Participation Team on 01543 306275 or by email to education@lichfieldfestival.org.