Norfolk's Banham Zoo has secured a global first with a magical Christmas tour of the Raymond Briggs' tale The Snowman and The Snowdog built from toy bricks.
Fans of the famous sequel to the original The Snowman classic will be able to meet their favourite characters as the zoo has secured the very first showing of a global tour which consists of 16 toy brick-built models. There will be four large brick characters including the Snowman himself, standing at 1.8ms tall and using a whopping 53,851 bricks. The little boy character, Billy, will be 1.3ms tall using 42,901 bricks and the Snowdog stands 75cm high using 11,526 bricks. There will also be a 1.8m wide 'head in the hole' selfie zone where people can have their photo taken with the trio flying through the air, created from 28,000 bricks.
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The models will form an interactive Christmas trail around Banham Zoo, with 12, 30cm high other brick-built displays depicting scenes including the house at night, the Grandfather clock, the Christmas tree and Father Christmas. The zoo is not charging extra for the event.
David Field, CEO of the Zoological Society of East Anglia, which manages Banham Zoo, said: "The Snowman and The Snowdog brick trail at Banham Zoo is an opportunity for people of all ages across the region and further afield, to come together and enjoy these amazing models. We look forward to welcoming families to this spectacular event, which is included in our standard admission prices, and explore Banham Zoo as they visit each character on the trail - not forgetting the opportunity to see and connect with all the amazing wildlife at Banham Zoo."
The event has been the result of a collaboration with BRICKLIVE, a London-based firm which creates toy brick events across the world, and Penguin Ventures, part of the Penguin book publisher. Thomas Merrington, creative director at Penguin Ventures, said: "We are always looking at how we can bring our classic characters to family audiences in new and unexpected ways and partnering with BRICKLIVE does exactly that. The sculptures show incredible attention to detail and we are really excited to see this trail come to life at Banham Zoo for Christmas 2019."
The event will be at Banham Zoo from November 30, 2019 until January 5, 2020. Tickets can be booked online at www.banhamzoo.co.uk
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