Southwold Library ‘Little Hoot’ to swoop into Suffolk Show

Visitors to the Suffolk Show 2022 are in for a real ‘tweet’ as all 65 of St Elizabeth Hospice’s Little Hoot statues will be making their first public appearances of the summer at the hospice’s Suffolk Show stand.

All designed by Suffolk schools and children’s groups, including Southwold Library, the fantastic Little Hoots are making their journey to the hospice’s stand, (number 237) at the county show, for all to enjoy as excitement builds ahead of the launch of Big Hoot Ipswich 2022 art trail on 19th June.

The Little Hoot community and education programme is running alongside the Big Hoot and has seen 65 schools and youth groups in Suffolk signing up to be inspired and get creative as part of the art trail, as they design their very own Little Hoots.

Brandon Orton, Community Fundraiser at St Elizabeth Hospice, said “Well done to Southwold Library and all the schools, groups and young people who have created a fantastic array of designs for our Little Hoots, with the Suffolk Show providing the perfect platform to showcase their brilliant creations.

“There is so much imagination and colour on all the designs and they will be enjoyed by all supporters of the Big Hoot Ipswich 2022 as they take part in this summer’s trail.”

By joining the learning programme, each school has also pledged to raise a minimum of £695 for the hospice, while they have also received a resource pack linked to the curriculum to help teachers stimulate young minds.

The Suffolk Show is their first gathering of the summer and for the duration of the trail (19th June – 3rd September) they will be found displayed in shop windows of independent retailers across Ipswich for everyone to see.

Charlotte Clark, Library Manager at Southwold Library whose Little Hoot Reeds and Reads will be on display at the Suffolk Show said: “We loved raising money for our Little Elmer, as part of the hospice’s previous art trail Elmer’s Big Parade Suffolk 2019. It really brought us and the community together to support a great cause and got all the local kids involved so we wanted to do that again for the Big Hoot Ipswich 2022.

“On a personal level St Elizabeth Hospice supported my friend through her final illness and they do such an amazing job. We have raised over £1,000 for the hospice through a variety of ways – people made us owl-themed crafts to sell, including some wonderful knitted cushions, we bought a few owl souvenirs to sell on, we had a guess the name of the owl competition, a couple of owl themed quiz sheets to buy, guess the number of owls in the jar, an owl themed lucky dip and two quiz nights.

“We asked children at all the local schools, clubs and toddler groups to design an owl for us. We then used these designs to inspire us and worked with local artist Laina West to realise a design that brings together the local Suffolk countryside, books and reading and owls. The finished design shows the beauty of the Suffolk marshlands and the books that are our core business.”

The Big Hoot Ipswich 2022, will see 50 ornately decorated owl sculptures scattered throughout Ipswich, as part of the biggest free art event in Suffolk, which is being brought to Ipswich by St Elizabeth Hospice in partnership with creative producers Wild in Art.

Launching the Big Hoot Ipswich 2022, will be the Hoot Hike. A sponsored family-friendly 5k walk, taking place on Sunday 19th June.

The Hoot Hike will begin in Christchurch Park, where the event village will be located for registration, craft activities and stallholders. From here, participants will then complete a 5km trail around Ipswich, featuring a number of the town’s landmarks and a large selection of sculptures from this year’s trail.

Tickets cost £5 and participants are encouraged to raise additional funds for the hospice, as part of the hike, through sponsorship. To register visit register.enthuse.com/ps/event/HootHike.

For more information about the Big Hoot 2022 go to thebighoot.co.uk.