Latest news with #WildinArt
Yahoo
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Meet the undercover duck posing as a penguin for Waddle-on-Sea trail in Southend
Visitors exploring the Waddle-on-Sea trail across Southend may spot an odd one out among dozens of penguins. Quacky Feet, an undercover duck, has joined the Waddle-on-Sea huddle, an art trail in Southend, posing as a penguin. The trail, created by Havens hospices and Wild in Art, is showcasing 31 large penguin sculptures and 72 baby sculptures throughout Southend, including Leigh, until September 3. Among the 72 baby sculptures is the adventurous rubber duck, Quacky Feet, crafted by Sarah Nash, director of finance at Waddle-on-Sea's presenting partner company, Ipeco Holdings Ltd. The unique sculpture is hand-decorated to resemble a penguin, featuring thousands of small gems. Quacky Feet has joined the Waddle-on-Sea huddle (Image: Havens hospices) As the only non-penguin on the trail, it holds an intriguing story for those who discover it. Speaking about Quacky Feet, Ms Nash said: "He wanted to find a huddle and see if he could disguise himself as a penguin to join in the fun. "Luckily, he found a fantastic huddle of penguins in his hometown, so he didn't have far to travel." Anyone who wants to give this special duck a forever home will have the opportunity to bid on Quacky Feet at the end of the trail. Read more German nurse among four killed in Southend Airport 'fireball' plane crash Youngsters killed in south Essex hit-and-run remembered at moving birthday event The trail, which is backed by the Echo, aims to raise funds for Havens hospices. Havens hospices provide free specialist care and support to people of all ages living with incurable conditions and their families across south Essex. Trail-goers can follow the trail by purchasing a map from any Havens hospices charity shop, or other venues including the Pier Information Centre, The Forum, LeighLibrary, and Waddle-on-Sea HQs at The Royals Shopping Centre and 141 Leigh Road. Artist Sarah Nash with Quacky Feet (Image: Havens hospices) Maps are subject to availability. A "Waddle on Sea" app can also be downloaded from the App Store or Google Play. This fundraising initiative which launched on Friday helps raise vital funds for the hospices to enable them to continue providing their services free of charge.
Scottish Sun
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
Ultimate UK guide to everything you can do for FREE in the school summer holidays… from tennis lessons to cinema tickets
Huge McDonald's, Harry Potter and cinema freebies await to ensure you and your family have the best summer ever - for nothing! HOL YEAH! Ultimate UK guide to everything you can do for FREE in the school summer holidays… from tennis lessons to cinema tickets THE summer school holidays are nearly here but keeping the kids entertained can be a challenge - and expensive. A new study found parents spend as much as £1,000 a week on their children during the six-week break but there is a wealth of free family activities across the country that promise a brilliant summer without breaking the bank. 4 Channel your inner Andy Murray with The Lawn Tennis Association's free lessons Credit: Alamy From sport classes to screenings and festivals, there are hundreds of free opportunities to try. Here's our pick of the best... 1. Free government-funded clubs The Government's Holiday Activities Fund (HAF) provides for completely free holiday clubs across the UK, run by local authorities. The clubs are targeted at children who have ever been eligible for free school meals in their schools, but there is discretion for 15% of the places to go to other children who would benefit. Councils are expected to provide a minimum of 16 days of provision, and you may need a code or letter from your child's school to get a place. Check online or ask your child's teacher if you think you may be eligible. 2. Tennis lessons for beginners Get the kids healthy and into a new sport with free tennis sessions. Barclays is sponsoring free group tennis sessions that can be booked on the Lawn Tennis Association website while you'll find more free sessions at Tennis For Free. 3. Art and sculpture trails Track down painted rabbits in Ipswich or colourful guitars in Manchester with a Wild in Art trail. These public displays of large-scale sculptures come with apps and maps so you can spend the day finding them all. Check out the Wild in Art website to find one near you. 4. Outdoor cinema pop-ups Go to the cinema for free with pop-up screenings of popular movies. Everyman is hosting outdoor screens in Kings Cross and Watford while Screen on the Green runs a similar outdoor experience in the middle of Newcastle. There is no one website that details all free screenings so the best place to look is local Facebook and council sites. 5. Fun in the forest Forestry England runs free trails (some with paid-for activity packs), as well as summer activities in forests up and down the country. Download a Wallace & Gromit themed walking trail or find one of their free 'disc golf' courses at six forest sites including Hamsterley in County Durham or Salcey in the East Midlands. You can pay to hire special discs, buy your own set to play for free, or get started using a frisbee you've got at home and buy a proper set if you get hooked. Get a Blue Peter badge & meet Bluey... one mum's top tips for a great value summer Lavania Oluban has recently published a journal for families to record their days out, called The Amazing Adventures of Me. Here, the Birmingham-based mum and teacher shares her top tips for making the summer holidays great fun and, importantly, great value. Plan ahead Start with your diary, Lavania says. Ask the children what big days out they want to do. Put those in first, and then fit cheaper events around them. 'You know six weeks is coming up. It's a lot of time to fill, so plan ahead.' Look for deals and vouchers Whether its Merlin tickets with Sun Club, or 2 for 1 days out if you travel by National Rail, there are plenty of deals available to take down the cost of days out, Lavania says, so always search for a discount. One top tip she has is to get your children applying for a Blue Peter badge. There are lots of ways to get one of these by meeting specific criteria and each one gives free child entry at lots of different attractions. 'The badge arrives in the post and you've got time for summer if you apply now,' she says. 'I keep my son's in the glovebox in the car so we can use it at any time.' Scrutinise every noticeboard Local days out are often advertised on physical noticeboards, so make a habit of reading them whenever you walk past, Lavania says. Whether it's an animal sanctuary with an open day, or a local county show where your children can enter a baking competition, all these days out are free or very cheap. 'Take photos of interesting possibilities on your phone when you see them,' she suggests. Hit up the shopping centre The summer months are quieter for shopping malls, so they often increase footfall by offering free children's activities. 'They will have days when a mascot like Bluey is there,' she says. 'Or a free outdoor trail'. You can check the website of your local centre to see what is going on. Pick your own A trip to the strawberry picking farm can be fun and provide you with food for the week. 'Lots of them have fun activities like Maize Mazes too and they aren't expensive,' Lavania says. If you don't know of farms near you try the for a list, and always check first whether there is fruit ready to pick before visiting. 6. Library reading challenges and games Get the children reading with the free challenge run by the Reading Agency and available at most UK libraries. Librarians will issue your children with a collector folder, and they can earn stickers and rewards for reading books, while they may also run other free activities. More details available here. 7. Local museum craft days London and other national museums are often free to enter and run free or extremely cheap craft days for children in the summer holidays, many of which you can book in advance online. My dream pool was £40,000 so I DIYd my own 18ft version in February all for this summer heatwave - it's saved me £37,000 As well as the big free museums, check out smaller local galleries and follow them on Instagram to see what they're offering, for example the National Archives in Kew, which runs a Time Travellers club with bookable sessions is free to visit with a small charge for its craft activities, while the Science & Industry Museum in Manchester offers bookable exhibitions. Which Museum is the best source for free galleries, shows and exhibitions near you. 4 Send your kids off on a treasure-hunting adventure with the Geocaching app Credit: Alamy 8. Geocaching Make a walk more exciting with the free geocaching app, which encourages you to find small 'caches' containing plastic toys and other tokens and leave some for others. Just download the app from and find caches near you. 9. Festivals and open days Expensive festivals can take a huge bite out of your budget, but there are free local events in many areas of the country. Check out the Eventbrite website for free options near you. Setting the filters for free family events will let you see what's going on in your area and allow you to apply for free tickets. 10. In-store workshops Many companies offer free workshops for kids to tempt you in during the holidays. Try your local Pets at Home for free pet owner classes with a certificate or sign up for Apple Camp on the tech company's website for free movie-making classes. Other companies to check for free kids' workshops include Hobbycraft, the Lego Store and Hamleys. 4 Head down to the farm and meet the animals with free visits near you Credit: Getty 11. Farm visits Many city farms are free to visit year-round while others hold bookable open days where children can feed and pet animals and learn about their care. Check your local websites for details or for free farms near you or try animal sanctuaries such as the Sidmouth Donkey Sanctuary, which is also free. 12. Get girls moving Nuffield Health offers free girls fitness classes run by expert instructors. You can book at if you have a Nuffield gym near you. 'My son wants to go to Harry Potter World... apart from that it's all about free days out' Natalie Ormond, 43, plans the summer holidays carefully to ensure she can get through the six weeks with her sons with her finances intact. 'I definitely do look for a lot of freebie things because obviously it's a long time and all of the paid-for things, like bowling and days out and stuff, add up if you're doing that every day,' says the Leeds-based mum-of-two. Natalie, who runs a children's gift business called Smallkind, says most deals and discounts dry up in the summer holidays, so she searches hard for free activities for sons Jesse, 11, and Noah, 8. 'We've got into geocaching which is free and lots of fun as it takes you very random places, or we'll have a day with a theme and a trail,' she says. 'So, once it was spotting owls on buildings, and that definitely gives the boys something to concentrate on while we're out and about. 'We do things like library tours - four libraries in a day with a picnic and walk in between them, and then we rate the libraries! Or we do the same with bookshops if the kids have any book tokens to spend.' Ormond, who is married to lawyer Owen, says that she's got pickier over the days out she will spend on, because she is so often disappointed. 'I think when the boys were younger, sometimes I was so desperate for somewhere to go that I ended up spending quite a lot of money. Now, if I'm going to spend a lot of money on a day out, I want to know that it's a good place. 'So, I've got a lot more selective. We've sort said to the boys for this year, they can give us a couple of ideas each of places that they'd like to go, and we'll try and do that. So, my oldest really wants to go to Harry Potter World and the younger one to a theme park – but mostly it will be free days out.' 13. Get up high Visiting London? Taking a trip up the Shard or on the London Eye will cost you dear but there are several viewing platforms that allow you to see the city for nothing at all. Horizon 22 is the highest viewing platform you can visit for free, and you can book in advance at Horizon 22 or get walk up tickets on the day. Other options include the Sky Garden and the Lookout at 8 Bishopsgate, all of which are bookable in advance. 14. Play football with McDonald's McDonald's is offering free football coaching for 5 to 11-year-olds this summer. Look online to find a session near you and to sign up for sessions and find out about free football festivals at here. 4 Potter mad? Take part in the free trail around Edinburgh Credit: THEPOTTERTRAIL 15. Join a walking tour Visiting a new city? Check out free walking tours to make the most of it with older children. A lot of cities offer these tours with an expert guide in exchange for a donation. For example, check out this free Harry Potter tour in Edinburgh. Make sure you book in advance and – in this case – make sure your children bring a wand, or something similar to 'swish and flick'. 16. Visit a splash parks or a lido If the weather warms up, a trip to a free splashpark or lido could be just the ticket. Free lidos include Swansea's Blackpill Park, while Shoalstone in Devon has a free seawater pool. Free splashpads include Splashlands in Welwyn Garden City, while many city council website have details of local offerings.
BBC News
12-07-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Penguins waddle into Southend-on-Sea for sculpture trail
A trail made up of penguin sculptures has been set up on the arrived in Southend-on-Sea on Friday as part of Waddle-on-Sea to raise money for Havens Hospices. About 100 figures of super-sized and baby penguins have been dotted around the city and neighbouring Leigh-on-Sea until 3 September."The aim is to bring some joy and colour to Southend and ultimately raise money for local hospice care," said Amy Dearing, director of fundraising and marketing at the charity. As part of the trail, 31 super-sized and 72 baby penguin sculptures were mounted on to event is in collaboration with the Wild in Art organisation, and people can buy maps or download an app to take part in the Hospices provides specialist care and support to people of all ages who are living with incurable conditions and their families. Ms Dearing added: "It is the third art trail between Havens Hospices and Wild in Art."We have very high hopes that we can raise as much money as possible for families that rely on our support. Local businesses sponsored the large penguins, and they were painted by artists. The baby penguins were adopted by local schools and community groups who decorated them ahead of the Dearing said: "It really is bringing the whole community together to support hospice care."We hope people will get behind Waddle-on-Sea, make a donation, enjoy the penguins and help us to secure the future of local hospice care."After the trail, some of the sculptures would be available to purchase at an auction in September. Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
BBC News
02-07-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
New Dartford bear sculpture trail inspired by children's book
A public art trail inspired by a children's book is set to be launched in borough of Dartford will receive 30 big bear and 30 bear cub sculptures, designed by local artists, schools and community groups, as a nod to We're Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen and illustrator Helen from July to September 2026, the eight-week trail aims to raise awareness of the work of ellenor, a palliative care provider in Langhorne, managing director and co-founder of trail producer Wild in Art, said: "I have no doubt that the bear sculptures will capture the imaginations of residents and visitors alike." James Waugh, centre director at Bluewater Shopping Centre, said: "This initiative is a fantastic way to encourage residents and visitors alike to explore Dartford and discover the selection of uniquely-decorated bears and cubs."ellenor is urging businesses to sponsor the sculptures and for artists to register their interest ahead of an open call for Hubbard, interim chief executive at ellenor, said: "Together we've mobilised creative talent, government funding and local goodwill to create a trail that will engage tens of thousands of visitors and raise vital awareness and funds for hospice care."
Glasgow Times
22-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Glasgow Times
Glasgow has a new Scottie dog trail - here's all you need to know
The Scotties in the City art trail for Maggie's cancer charity will see 50 beautiful sculptures brightening up streets across the city and its suburbs in 2026. At the end of the eight-week project, which was officially launched at the Trades Hall in Glasgow on Wednesday (June 18), the artworks will be auctioned off to raise money for Maggie's, who help families going through cancer treatment. (Image: Martin Shields) Hayley Smith, project manager for Scotties in the City at Maggie's, said: 'We hope this fun art trail, in partnership with Wild in Art, will play a key role in boosting the city's social, cultural and economic development and draw in visitors to experience the charm of our city. 'People travel far and wide to see art trails like this and many famous faces – such as Lorraine Kelly and Judy Murray - have bought sculptures from Wild in Art charity auctions in the past.' At the launch, which showcased Glasgow artist Douglas Roulston's sculpture Lochie, the charity put a call out for artists and sponsors to get on board. She added: 'Today's launch is a call out for businesses to get involved in sponsoring a giant Scottie sculpture, and a call out for artists to take part.' An educational programme will run alongside the project. Sixty schools can also apply for their own small Scottie, complete with resources and lessons pack, which they can design and decorate. The smaller sculptures will also form part of the art trail and be returned to the schools at the end. (Image: Martin Shields) Douglas said: 'I am honoured to introduce Lochie, the first big Scottie on the Glasgow trail for Maggie's. 'My artwork is inspired by the dramatic beauty of the Highlands and Islands. I have painted the beautiful landscape of Loch Lomond with Ben Lomond, the golf course, the loch itself and a few signature trees. 'Hidden on Lochie's chest is a heart shaped by the trees – a quiet reminder of strength, love and compassion which also sum up Maggie's and the great work they do in supporting families going through cancer.' Charlie Langhorne, managing director of Wild in Art, added: 'We are thrilled to be working with our friends and partners at Maggies on our first standalone trail in Glasgow. 'We are confident that our Wild in Art Scottie dogs will bring joy to both residents and tourists as they discover the trail and explore the city, and raise awareness and vital funds to support the invaluable work that Maggie's does to help people with cancer and their families.'
