An iconic character from one of the nation’s most enchanting TV animations – The Snowman and the Snowdog - is being brought to life on the Tyne and Wear Metro system.
Larger than life sculptures of the Snowdog from the 2012 sequel to Raymond Briggs’ original Snowman film from 1982 are to be showcased as part of a new trail in aid of the St Oswald’s Children’s Hospice.
Each Snowdog will find a temporary home around Tyne and Wear on a route based on the iconic Metro map.
Metro Stations were temporarily renamed to celebrate the announcement of Metro as the presenting partner of Great North Snowdogs 2016.
Visitors to ‘Paw Lane Ends’ in North Tyneside and ‘Bark Lane’ in Sunderland were welcomed by a giant Snowdog - along with Metro’s friendly cube character. They were on hand to show support for St Oswald’s Children’s Hospice and the Great North Snowdogs sculpture trail.
The Snowdogs, beautifully decorated by artists and generously sponsored by local businesses, will be on show for ten weeks from September 2016. They will be joined by a pack of around 120 little Snowdog sculptures designed by local school children.
Great North Snowdogs 2016 is being presented by creative producers Wild in Art, working in partnership with St Oswald's Children’s Hospice. Previous Wild in Art trails across the country have attracted thousands of local, regional and national visitors – making a significant impact on the economic and cultural life of the region.
Once the trail ends, the sculptures will be auctioned at an event in December to raise funds for St Oswald’s Children’s Hospice.
Tobyn Hughes, Managing Director at Nexus, which owns and manages the Tyne and Wear Metro, said: “The Great North Snowdogs sculpture trail will be great for Metro. This will help us to build on our growing passenger numbers, which are now at a five year high at 40 million journeys in 2015.
“This underlines Metro’s massive role in linking up local communities.
“It is also a great opportunity for our region to get behind a fantastic local charity and help them raise funds in support of the incredible work they do.
“The trail will show off our region to its fullest I’m sure it will be warmly enjoyed by our passengers. I’m delighted Metro is sponsoring the event and hope more businesses, organisations and groups get on board and help to make the Snowdog trail something we can all be proud of.”
Metro Customer Services Director, Paul Walker, said: “We’re very proud to be able to support the Great North Snowdogs. It’s a fantastic idea which will really help to drive passenger numbers on the Metro system.
“Using Metro will be the perfect way to follow the Snowdogs sculpture trail and we’re looking forward to helping as many people as possible discover the Snowdogs and explore our region during the event.”
St Oswald’s Hospice, which is based in Gosforth, Newcastle, provides care to local adults, young people and children with incurable conditions, across the North East. The Hospice is appealing for suggestions of locations across Tyne and Wear for the dogs, helping to show off the region to its fullest.
Jane Hogan, Great North Snowdogs project lead at St Oswald’s Hospice, said: “We are absolutely delighted to be partnering with Tyne and Wear Metro in this way.
Great North Snowdogs is an exciting opportunity for businesses, artists, schools and all of the people of the North East and beyond to come together and celebrate what the region has to offer. We want people of all ages to really get involved and become tourists in their own city, all while supporting a much loved local charity.”
To find out more about becoming a sponsor or to give your location suggestions for the Great North Snowdogs, please visit: www.greatnorthsnowdogs.co.uk or follow on Twitter: @great_snowdogs or Facebook: /greatnorthsnowdogs