Follow the knitted bear, hedgehog, wolf and frogs on Great Yarmouth Arts Festival trail
Launch of Great Yarmouth Arts Festival 2015. Festival Chairman Hugh Sturzaker with one of the giant puppets which will form part of the Mammoth Parade. Picture: James Bass - Credit: Eastern Daily Press © 2015
A borough-wide network of knitters have put their skills to good use creating an army of woolly mammoths, stoats, bears, hedgehogs and snakes ahead of Great Yarmouth's summer Arts Festival.
The knitted creatures will form a trail around the town, taking cover in window displays while eagle-eyed shoppers unravel their whereabouts.
Festival chairman Hugh Sturzaker said: 'This is a great way to raise awareness about the Arts Festival and, thanks to the generosity of our knitters and the shops and stalls who have put them on display, we have a fun competition to provide free tickets each week and, at the end, some money for the Louis Hamilton Centre.
'We are most grateful to Lorraine Lavan and Jonathan Newman for coordinating this trail. For those who wish to see a life-size mammoth then come to the town entre at 11am on Saturday, June 6 and see the Great Yarmouth carnival procession.'
He said knitters from Belton and Caister library's knitting group, Great Yarmouth library Knit and Natter group and individuals had been busy clicking needles and hooking yarns to present a wonderful array of creatures.
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Thanks to Mr Newman and his team at Great Yarmouth Town Centre Partnership, the animals, ranging from hedgehogs, snakes, beavers, frog families, stoats, bears, mini-mammoths, and even a wolf, are waiting to be discovered in shop windows and businesses in Yarmouth's shopping centre.
Each week, The Mercury will be publishing a form which readers will be invited to fill in. The reader finding the most animals by each Friday, will receive two tickets for a festival event.
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Following the festival, the animals will be auctioned off at various events and the money raised will be donated to the Louise Hamilton Centre.
The 10-day festival, taking place in June, boasts a combination of music, visual art, theatre, film and heritage.
Organisers are once again hoping to appeal to people of all ages and entice those who think of Yarmouth's candy floss image before its rich history or growing arts scene.
Events will take place across Yarmouth and Gorleston from June 5 to 14, range from puppet shows and live comedy to open air art exhibitions and a film festival for youngsters.
But the official opener will be a Mammoth Parade starting in the Market Place at 11am on Saturday, June 6.
There will also be a free art exhibition on the railings outside St George's Theatre and a Neighbour Fair at Yarmouth Library, offering food, drink and crafts from around the world. Visit www.greatyarmouth artsfestival.co.uk, @gyartsfestival on Twitter GreatYarmouthArts on Facebook.