SAA joins Elmer’s Big Parade with unique display at Suffolk Show 2019

The Suffolk Agricultural Association (SAA) has joined Elmer’s Big Parade Suffolk in aid of St. Elizabeth Hospice. The SAA will be the lead Education Partner in the 2019 art trail, alongside Ipswich School as Associate Education Partner.

Elmer’s Big Parade Suffolk has a strong education element with a range of opportunities for schools and youth groups to participate. In addition to the 50 large Elmer sculptures on the art trail, there will be 100 young Elmers which will be designed and decorated by schools and youth groups across the county. Participating groups must pledge to raise £750 as part of a fundraising competition, with the winner receiving a full-size Elmer to keep.

As Education Partner, the SAA will host a unique opportunity for people to see Elmer’s Learning Herd, the 100 young Elmer sculptures, at the Suffolk Show on 29 and 30 May 2019. The display will be a special preview for show visitors to see all the young Elmers together before the art trail officially opens a few weeks later.

Elmer’s Big Parade Suffolk is part of a busy programme of education activities run by the SAA, which aim to inform children and young people about food, farming and the countryside.

Norman Lloyd, Campaign Manager for St Elizabeth Hospice, said: “We are pleased to be working with SAA as our Education Partner once again and are really excited for all the opportunities this presents. It will be a fantastic spectacle to see all 100 young Elmer sculptures decorated and on display all together in one place, we think this is going to be something really special.”

Phillip Ainsworth, chief executive of the Suffolk Agricultural Association, said: “We are delighted to be part of Elmer’s Big Parade Suffolk and to contribute to the education aspect of the project. The art trail is a fun way to celebrate our community spirit and diversity in Suffolk’’.

Elmer’s Big Parade Suffolk follows the very successful ‘Pigs Gone Wild’ art trail in 2016, which raised £200,000 for St Elizabeth Hospice and was a highlight of the summer for Ipswich, boosting both visitor numbers and the economy. The campaign is once again being run in conjunction with public art event specialists, Wild in Art, as well as new partner, children’s publisher Andersen Press, which has published Elmer since 1989. For more information about Elmer’s Big Parade, visit elmersbigparadesuffolk.co.uk.

As a charity, the SAA’s core purpose is to be a force for good and be trusted and relevant to all matters’ food, farming and the environment. The SAA achieves this through the Suffolk Show as well as a series of education programmes aimed at young people in schools and colleges. To find out more about the SAA and the Suffolk Show, visit suffolkshow.co.uk.

Pictured – (L-R) Abi Southworth, Suffolk Show; Helen Fomenko, education projects lead at SAA; Jo Beattie, Elmer’s Big Parade Suffolk Assistant Campaign Manager; Phillip Ainsworth, chief executive at SAA; and Norman Lloyd, Elmer’s Big Parade Suffolk Campaign.