The Great North Snowdogs are finally on the loose! Let out of their kennels to take up their positions across the Tyne and Wear and Brighton and Hove areas.
Fans of Raymond Briggs’ ‘The Snowman and The Snowdog’ have been wagging their tongues in anticipation for the start of the Snowdog trails, and now, at long last, the fictional four legged creations are in place and ready for you to seek them out.
Both Great North Snowdogs and Snowdogs By The Sea have been launched by public art initiative Wild In Art, which, over recent months, has been tasking local artists to come up with their own interpretation of the magnificent mutt for public display.
And, now that the dogs have taken pride of place on their plinths, it’s time for you to track them all down. And to give you a head start the organisers have come up with a mobile app that lets you track down the entire pack, ticking them off as you go. You can find it on the ‘Yapp’ Store I’m told.
(PS I make no apawlogies for the pawful puns used in this article).
Not only do the paw-fect pooches look amazing, they’re also helping to raise vital funds for St Oswald’s Hospice in Newcastle and Martlets Hospice in Brighton, with local businesses and organisations doing their bit by sponsoring each of the dogs.
The trails run until 29th November in Tyne and Wear and 27th November in Brighton and Hove. After this, the sculptures will be auctioned to raise money for the hospices.
One of the most eye-catching creations is ‘Tails of the North East’, which is the work of artist David Maguire and is sponsored by nationwide motor retailer Lookers.
Standing proud at Newcastle Civic Centre, the multi-coloured mongrel uses a mosaic pattern to depict some of the North East’s most striking scenes, including the Angel of the North, Tynemouth Priory, Penshaw Monument and, of course, The Great North Run.
Heike O’ Leary, marketing director at Lookers, said: “We’re very proud to be supporting such a creative and inspiring project and are more than happy with our choice of Snowdog, which is both eye-catching and says so much about the fantastic attractions we have here in the North East. I recommend everyone to get out there and find as many Snowdogs as they can.”
‘Tails of the North East’ is a perfect example of the creativity that the project has inspired in the artists taking part, with other notable Snowdogs including the Paddington Bear inspired ‘Pawdington’ at the Customs House, South Shields; the very fruity ‘Snowberry’ at Newcastle Quayside; the glitter-tastic ‘Disco Dog’ at The Sage Gateshead and Duke Street in Brighton; the far-out ‘Spocky Dog’ in Washington Galleries; the very cool Mod Dog at Brighton’s Churchill Square and the beach ready Horatio Ð the Bathing Beauty at East Street, Brighton.
The project has also gained the support of one of the UK’s foremost DJ’s, Brighton resident Fat Boy Slim, who has contributed directly by teaming up with local artist Ryan Callanan to create Boomer, the boom box dog (no doubt complete with sub-woofers).
There are a total of 61 Snowdogs in Tyne and Wear and 44 in Brighton, so there’s plenty to get out there and see.
It’s a project that has certainly given the Raymond Briggs character a new ‘leash of life’ and has already caught the imagination of the public who have downloaded the app in their droves as well as uploaded their ‘Snowfies’ to the Great North Snowdogs Facebook page. #GreatNorthSnowdogs.
You should also keep an eye out for packs of smaller Snowdogs that have been designed by some very talented school children in both areas.
So, what are you waiting for? Art, dogs, 2 fantastic charities. What’s not to love?
Oh, one more thing, please don’t sit on the Snowdogs. I know it’s very tempting for ‘snowfie’ purposes, but I’m told it can prove hazardous to their health.