Dates announced for Herd In The City art trail

March 17, 2023

The dates of Herd In The City, which will be stomping into Southend-on-Sea this summer, have officially been announced.

Herd In The City – created by Havens Hospices and Wild in Art – is set to take to the streets of Southend-on-Sea, Leigh-on-Sea and Shoeburyness in four months’ time, from Friday 14th July to Monday 4th September.

The art trail will see more than 45 large elephant sculptures dotted around the city, each one sponsored by a local business and painted by a professional artist in varying styles.

Alongside these will be over 70 ‘mini herds’ of baby elephants, adopted and decorated by a school or community group, making art accessible to all.

At the end of the trail, the elephants will be sold at auction, once again raising money for Havens Hospices. This follows the success of the charity’s ‘Hares About Town’ trail in 2021, which raised more than £447,000 for local hospice care.

The decision to focus on elephants for this project was made by colleagues working and volunteering at Havens Hospices.

They felt that elephants depict many of the values of hospice care - they never forget, much like the families making treasured memories together and saying goodbye to loved ones at Havens Hospices. Elephants are also sensitive, caring and nurturing, much like the Care Teams who work tirelessly, ‘Making every day count’ for the hospices’ patients and families.

Rachel Hawksworth, Project Manager for Havens Hospices, said: “We are so excited to officially announce the dates our parade of elephants will be standing proud amongst Southend-on-Sea’s iconic attractions, bringing colour and fun to the city.

“Herd In The City will offer everyone a great day out, exploring parts of the city they may not have visited before, as well as raise thousands of pounds for the free, specialist hospice care Havens Hospices provides for local adults, children, and their families.”

Havens Hospices includes Fair Havens in Southend, and Little Havens, the children’s hospice for Essex based in Benfleet. The care provided by the charity is completely free of charge, thanks to the generosity of individuals and groups, raising money and making donations.

Herd In The City is made possible thanks to Presenting Partner Southend-on-Sea City Council, Official Event Partners, BTMK Solicitors, Method IT, Ayers & Cruiks and c2c, plus Rickard Luckin as the Learning Programme Partner, Atlantic Pacific as the Logistics Partner, Echo Newspaper as the Media Partner, Main Media as the Photography and Videography Partner, and 6rs as the Creative Partner, which has produced the brand for the project.

Wild in Art is one of the leading producers of spectacular, mass-appeal public art events, connecting businesses, artists and communities through creativity and innovation.

For further information about the trail, visit www.herdinthe.city or follow the herd at herdinthe.city on Instagram and @herdinthecity on Twitter and Facebook.