Penguin army poised to take over city...

With Maggie’s Penguin Parade due to launch on Saturday, Caroline Lindsay finds out more about the exclusive trail map in today’s Courier, perfect for bagging all those birds

Our colourful feathered friends who will make up Maggie’s Penguin Parade are assembled ready to hit the streets of Dundee later this week. Picture: Steve MacDougall. See exclusive map inside and also

Tayside is ready to waddle into a bright summer of fun as the Maggie’s Penguin Parade prepares to hit the streets at the end of this week.

To celebrate, and to help eager participants follow the trail of all 80 penguins, you’ll find an exclusive Courier map showing the location of each and every sculpture in today’s paper.

Artists and designers from across the region have transformed the original blank penguin design.

It was produced by Duncan of Jordanstone lecturer Janice Aitken. Artists have turned it into a plethora of brilliantly-hued aquatic birds standing over 5ft tall.

Scattered across the city, and as far afield as Kirriemuir, Brechin, Perth and St Andrews, the waddle of penguins will delight residents and visitors before being auctioned in September to raise funds for Maggie’s Dundee.

For Shirley Linton, chairwoman of the Maggie’s Dundee fundraising board, the parade is the culmination of three years of planning.

“I’m very excited. We’ve seen the birth of an army of penguins and the commitment and enthusiasm of the team, and the community has been amazing and humbling,” she says.

“Now it’s fully hatched the trail will be a great thing to get families out and about. The map will help make walking from one penguin to the next easy, and mini trails within the main map show where the sculptures that aren’t in Dundee can be found.

“There’s also loads of merchandise to tie in with the trail and people can find stockists on the map. For us at Maggie’s it’s important to raise money, but this trail will be advantageous for us as it will also raise a whole new band of supporters.”

Shirley has been overwhelmed by the involvement of schools in the project.

“They have been amazing and we’ve been so impressed by their professional approach in designing their own mini penguins,” she said.

“So go on, go out and get penguineering.”

Putting a map together is no mean feat and the woman tasked with the job of making sure it all came together is Rebecca Stott, fundraising organiser at Maggie’s Dundee’s.

Working closely with the council, Rebecca and the team had to ensure the penguins would all be sited in locations where they wouldn’t cause any problems such as blocking pavements or causing parking difficulties. “It was also important to make it into an accessible trail so it was easy to go from one penguin to the next,” Rebecca explains. Local designer John Barrie, who also worked on the Oor Wullie Trail map, brought the map to life and Rebecca can’t wait to see people of all ages using it to follow the patter of webbed feet. “I’m so excited that people will finally get a chance to see the trail,” she enthuses. “Although we’ve revealed a couple of designs to Courier readers, we’ve managed to keep the other 78 a secret. So get out there and meet them all.”

After months of preparation and painstaking painting, the penguins are poised to parade. The sight of scores of magnificent sculptures gleaming in the Dundee sunshine is a thrill and we’re certain children and adults alike will be desperate to begin hunting them down when they hit the street later this week.

It’s fair to say the Maggie’s Penguin Parade has caught the imagination and will create fond memories, not to mention much-needed funds for a magnificent cause.