Visit Maidstone this summer and discover Elmer’s Big Heart of Kent Parade
UNITED KINGDOM / AGILITYPR.NEWS / June 29, 2021 / Schools out and families who head to Maidstone this summer can have a fun time discovering all the brightly coloured Elmers scattered across some fabulous locations around the town centre, along the river path and around the beautiful parks. Elmer’s Big Heart of Kent Parade is bringing a ton of colour and laughter to the area until 22 August 2021.
It is the first-ever public art trail of its kind to visit Maidstone and is based on one of the world's most famous children's book characters, Elmer the Patchwork Elephant, by David McKee.
The 51 uniquely designed large Elmer sculptures have all been decorated by local and national artists, together with 31 small Elmers decorated by local schools and community groups.
A special auction will be held on Thursday 9 September to raise money for Heart of Kent Hospice when the 51 large Elmers will go under the hammer.
To take part in the trail, pick up a beautifully hand-illustrated map (suggested £1 donation to the Hospice) or download the free Parade app (available to download from the App Store or Google Play). Each Elmer has a unique app code that reveals some exciting rewards to download. Maps can be picked up from two town centre shops - Elmer HQ in The Mall, Fremlin’s Elephant House in Fremlin Walk and all 14 Heart of Kent Hospice charity shops, and at many other local businesses.
Elmer’s Learning Herd, which is made up of 30 small Elmer sculptures, includes one special Elmer that has been designed especially for Heart of Kent Hospice to coincide with a book published by their Hospice Social Worker, written specifically for children dealing with the loss of a loved one.
Ann-Marie Kelly, Income Generation Director at Heart of Kent Hospice said: “These are no ordinary elephants – they’re on an important mission to raise awareness and funds for Heart of Kent Hospice as we celebrate our 30th anniversary of providing specialist advice, support and outstanding care for people living with a terminal illness.
“We hope as many people as possible are able to enjoy the free and fully accessible art trail across the summer and enjoy exploring and making happy memories. Later this year (Friday 3 September to Sunday 5 September 2021), people can see all the Elmer sculptures under one roof at the Farewell Weekend at Lockmeadow, Maidstone before the 51 large Elmers are auctioned on Thursday 9 September.”
This fabulous event is courtesy of a collaboration between Heart of Kent Hospice, Wild in Art, Andersen Press and Official Presenting Partner Westerhill Homes.
To ensure you don’t miss out on any of the fun, visit www.elmermaidstone.co.uk/
Download the app at https://elmermaidstone.co.uk/app/
Media enquiries, interview and image requests to Caroline Edmunds at Pennington PR on 01892 616647 or 07775 943304 or Cheri Strudwick at Heart of Kent Hospice 07725 891128.
Wild in Art: Wild in Art is one of the leading producers of spectacular public art events that entertain, enrich, inform and leave a lasting legacy.
We bring together businesses and creative sectors with schools and local communities through the creation of uniquely painted sculptures.
Our events have enabled more than £15 million to be raised for charitable causes and helped millions of people experience art in non-traditional settings. We believe passionately that being creative through art not only gives people a voice, but it also has a positive impact on society, education, the economy and our health and wellbeing.
We are delighted that Heart of Kent Hospice is hosting Maidstone’s first-ever sculpture trail and the star of the show is one of the most iconic and popular colourful children’s book characters of all time – Elmer the Patchwork Elephant.
Andersen Press: Elmer by David McKee is a family favourite, with over 10 million books sold in over 60 languages worldwide. There are now more than 30 books written and illustrated by David McKee in the Elmer series – so start your trail by reading some of these brilliant books.
Elmer stands for accepting who you are and celebrating difference. We are all different, with so many differences – different races, accents, sizes, shapes and how we dress. The differences are what make the world so rich. It’s brilliant that we’ll celebrate everyone’s true colours with Elmer’s Big Heart of Kent Parade in Maidstone this year.
“I am so excited by the thought of all the Elmer sculptures being decorated by artists and children - it will be fun for the visitors and the artists to see them, but more than that I hope it is an enormous help to the charity to continue their important work. Thank you to Heart of Kent Hospice and Wild in Art, both myself and Elmer can’t wait to see the sculptures on the streets of Maidstone.” – David McKee, creator of Elmer.
Westerhill Homes: Westerhill Homes, part of the Kent based award-winning Chartway Group, is a privately funded development company with diverse developments across Kent.
Formed in 2014 Westerhill Homes has quickly gained a reputation for building quality new homes in sought-after locations. Reflecting the Kent heritage and local vernacular are key design points. At the heart of everything they do is a passion to protect the environment and enhance the communities where they are building, developing social interaction between neighbours and working with local businesses and schools.
As a local employer many of their team have personal connections to Heart of Kent Hospice.
About Us
About the Hospice: 2021 marks our 30th anniversary. Three decades of providing free, compassionate, end-of-life care to people living with a terminal illness and their loved ones in Maidstone, Aylesford, Tonbridge and Malling and the surrounding towns and villages.
The Hospice has built an excellent reputation within the local community for the quality of our care, which has been further endorsed by the Care Quality Commission who awarded us with an overall rating of ‘Outstanding’ following an inspection in February 2017.
Our vision is for everyone living with a terminal illness in our community to achieve the best quality of life. We are committed to achieving this by enabling them to live in comfort, with independence and dignity to the end of their lives, and to support those closest to them.
Last year the Hospice cared for over 1,700 patients and their families in their own homes or at our Aylesford-based Hospice. Our services cost £5 million a year to run, with over £4 million raised through the generosity of our local community.
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