There were shrieks of delightthis morning as children scrambled over concrete plinths holding some exciting new additions to Ipswich town centre.
After two years of planning, the St Elizabeth Hospice pigs really have gone wild.
A Minion-themed pig was attracting lots of attention on the Cornhill with children patiently taking it in turns to climb onto the step and pose for a photo.
Olive Sewell, of Ipswich, said: “I came in on the bus and I saw two at the college, then one in Fore Street. I am enjoying seeing them, if my daughter had known she would have come into town today instead of yesterday. She would love them.”
In St Peter’s Street, Pretty Penny and Piggy Stardust were both making themselves comfortable in their new surroundings and knitters had also been busy overnight covering the Giles Statue and the street furniture in woolly covers. Further down the street, I Make Fun Stuff craft market was taking place with the combination of these events creating a holiday-like atmosphere in the town.
Joel Millerchip, of Stowmarket, was in town with Freddie, seven, and three-year-old Poppy, and he said: “Coming down the road with the kids it has been great to see a bit of art and also to know there is the charity aspect too.”
The illustrator said: “I was asked to design a pig but sadly I had to decline because I had too much work on. It would have been a tough job because the difficulty with this is you need to get a connection with the local community.”
He continued: “It is easy to draw a design on paper but taking that 2D image and making it 3D while working with the features of the pig is hard.”
But the talented artists who created the 39 pigs which are now dotted around Ipswich have done just that.
“So far I have only seen three and they are lovely,” added Mr Millerchip.
“I love Elvis Porksley and Frankenswine just because it is a funny pun.”
The project has been spearheaded by Norman Lloyd who was part of the team who delivered the pigs across the town in the very early hours of this morning.
“It was full on in the rain but we got them all out. It was weird because the first pig my team put out was the Ham-Inator, who is at the Arboretum, and I got quite emotional seeing the pig in place.
“It has been a long time coming and there is a sense of relief they are all out. We have nurtured them and now it is over to other people to love them and look after them.”
He said he hoped people would enjoy the artwork and that it brings a smile to their faces as they walk through Ipswich.
“Hopefully the pigs will make people take some civic pride in Ipswich. There is a lot of talk about 2016 being the year of change for the town and I am glad St Elizabeth Hospice is a part of that.”
The trail will be officially launched tomorrow, with trail maps available from St Elizabeth Hospice stores. See our eight-page pull-out special in print tomorrow for your copy of the map and more news on the Pigs Gone Wild project.
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