Following the success of Pigs Gone Wild, Elmer’s Big Parade Suffolk and the Big Hoot Ipswich 2022, St Elizabeth Hospice has announced it will be hosting a fourth art trail – called the Hop to it! Suffolk 2025 art trail.
Created in partnership with creative producers Wild in Art, the art project will see around 38 ornately decorated hare sculptures, featuring a range of designs. The trail will once again be hosted in Ipswich as well as, for the first time, in neighbouring satellite locations including Beccles, Felixstowe, Lowestoft and Woodbridge, which will each have two large sculptures and small sculptures in their towns.
The full announcement of the trail and sculpture identity came at a special launch event, on 22nd April, at Christchurch Mansion, in Ipswich, where the Hop to it! Suffolk 2025 trail – Hares for the Hospice, was unveiled to a number of supporters of previous hospice art trails.
Celia Joseph, Community & Partnerships Fundraising Manager at St Elizabeth Hospice, said: “We are delighted to announce the Hop to it! Suffolk 2025 art trail, as our next art trail.
“It has been a closely guarded secret for many months now, but we are so excited to fully reveal Suffolk will be home to a number of beautifully designed hare sculptures, in support of the hospice, in summer 2025.
“With our services continuing to expand throughout Suffolk, Great Yarmouth and Waveney, we were keen for our latest trail to reflect the help and support we give to local people and we hope this will excite trail enthusiasts and encourage many people to see the sculptures and explore our beautiful county.
Charlie Langhorne, Managing Director and Co-founder, Wild in Art said: “It’s great to be back in Suffolk and to be teaming up once again with St Elizabeth Hospice. Our events enable thousands of people of all ages to experience art by making it part of everyday life. They encourage exploration and drive footfall, creating a collective feeling of community and pride, and lead to a positive effect on the local economy.
“I’m delighted that this time, the satellite locations will enable even more people to enjoy the sculptures. It’s a fantastic opportunity for businesses, the creative sector and children and young people to come together to create something very special.”
The Big Hoot Ipswich 2022 art trail brought colour and creativity in 2022, with 50 ornately decorated owl sculptures making Ipswich their nest for the summer as part of the biggest free art event in Suffolk.
The sculptures were then auctioned in October 2022 where, alongside accompanying Big Hoot fundraising activities throughout the summer, they helped raise over £270,300 for St Elizabeth Hospice which every year delivers support to over 4,000 patients and their families living with progressive or life-limiting illnesses.
Hannah Jackson is a fan of the previous hospice Wild in Art trails and has her own personal experience of the hospice’s care with the charity providing care to her Dad, Paul Dodwell, before his death in 2023.
“I was involved with the Big Hoot in 2022 through my work at Homestyle UK Windows, who have supported St Elizabeth Hospice since the first art trail in 2016,” said Hannah.
“The art trails get families and friends out together, exploring areas they may not have been to before. It also raises awareness of St Elizabeth Hospice and the work it does.
“I certainly didn’t think our family would ever need to use St Elizabeth Hospice’s services, but I guess you never know what the future will bring. The support our family received, when my Dad was in the care of the hospice, was absolutely amazing and fundraising events, like the art trails, are a great way of supporting the hospice and raising vital funds for their services.”
To register interest for Wild in Art 2025 please visit www.stelizabethhospice.org.uk/hoptoitsuffolk/