Arts trail unleashes its first carousel horse design
LOVED-ONES’ NAMES CAN BE PAINTED ON SPECIAL FIGURE FOR CHARITY
A HUGELY popular arts trail which will feature life-size carousel horses in Burton has unveiled its first design for its creations, and people will be able to have personalised messages on it.
Following the success of last year’s Burton Swans arts trail in the town, the same Making Trails team is organising the Big Burton Carousel trail, which this time will feature carousel horses made from wood and individually decorated.
The idea of creating carousel horses was chosen to pay tribute to Burton-based fairground ride makers Orton and Spooner, which created some of the world’s best fairground rides and showmen’s caravans from the 1890s to the 1950s.
Next summer, 30 carousel horses, decorated by artists and sponsored by local businesses, will form the trail around Burton town centre. An exact date for the event is yet to be set. Last year it was visited by hundreds of people.
Founder and managing director of Making Trails, Tilley Bancroft has now unveiled the first confirmed design for the trail, which will be blue painted horse, which will be covered in personal messages.
The team chose blue as it will be working in collaboration with mental health charity Burton Mind. This horse will not be auctioned off after the event like the others will be, but will instead go to Burton Mind and stand at the charity’s Branston Road headquarters.
Burton residents are now being invited to donate money to a Crowdfunder campaign which will go to Burton Mind to have their names, or those of their loved ones, painted onto the Mind horse, with “a few hundred” slots available.
Tilley said: “The process is going really well so far. We have had a fair few design submissions in so far. So many businesses have come forward with interest in sponsoring. “2022 is the 30-year anniversary of Burton Mind and we want to gift them a special horse. It will be painted in Mind’s iconic blue colour and those who donate to our Crowdfunder can choose a name to be painted on the horse by one of our artists. “It is the second design we have revealed after our rainbow design that we posted with our launch announcement. The whole point of the Crowdfunder was to make it a real community effort. “We don’t have an upper limit for spaces on the horse but we are really encouraging people to donate.
“Pledge before December 1 and we’ll send you a Mind Carousel Horse certificate that’s guaranteed to arrive before Christmas – perfect for a unique gift.”
Tilley said the team had been inspired and motivated by the success of the swan trail from last year.
She added: “We really wanted to commission emerging upcoming artists from Staffordshire and Derbyshire. Doing the Burton swans last year really inspired us. On the back of that project, we are reaching more people.
“We’re not quite ready to reveal any more details about the other designs as we want families to experience them for themselves. But it is all very exciting to see the project come together.”
The Crowdfunder opened on November 1, with a £10 donation guaranteeing a name on the sculpture. To participate, go to www.crowdfunder.co.uk/thebigburtoncarousel