Northern customers are advised to be on the lookout for a very special bear when they’re next in Leeds City Centre.
Families can now take part in the Leeds Bear Hunt 2023, with Northern’s giant bear being just one of 35 sculptures and 50 bear cubs hiding in plain sight across the city. The large-scale public art trail, a project by Wild in Art, has sploshed its way into Leeds for 10 weeks, bringing Michael Rosen’s iconic We’re Going on a Bear Hunt story to life.
The free public event is set to benefit the whole community, with hundreds of thousands of Leeds residents and visitors expected to join in the fun. Leeds Bear Hunt showcases off the very best creative talent from local, regional and national artists. Money raised through the event will enable Leeds Hospitals Charity support Leeds Children’s Hospital to give the best possible care to very ill babies and children.
Albert Lackey, an 11-year-old train enthusiast designed Northern’s bear which shows the evolution of Leeds railway station’s architecture and locomotives from 1938 to present day. The talented Keighley youngster drew the designs onto the bear and then his mum Rachel Lackey helped him paint the sculpture, which took up every weekend for seven weeks. It is now place at the Leeds Corn Exchage for everyone to enjoy. The trains Albert drew include an A4 Pacific, Merchant Navy, 111 Britannia and Deltic; Pacer, Class 91, 158, 185 and 800.
Northern is the second largest train operator in the UK. We provide 2,500 local and regional services every day to more than 500 stations across the North of England. In total, more than 100 million passenger journeys are made on our network each year.
Tony Baxter, regional director at Northern said:
“We’re pleased to be able to take part in the Leeds Bear Hunt and Albert’s wonderful creation is now on display for everyone to see.”
Why Bears? Leeds Hospitals Charity is working in partnership with Walker Productions/Lupus Films, the production team behind the stunning animation based on the best-selling children’s book We’re Going on a Bear Hunt, published by Walker Books. The Bear sculptures are inspired by the Bear from the award-winning TV animation and have been commissioned and created just for Leeds.
The message of this wonderful story is about how we deal with our fears. This is reflected in the experience of many children in hospital, who might fear the unknown, or possibly the knowledge of what is to come. With the money raised by Leeds Bear Hunt, we hope to create a Leeds Children’s Hospital that is a welcoming and reassuring place, with a hospital team that is equipped to support children and families facing their own “Bear”.
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Together we can really make a difference and help the children of Leeds enjoy many more ‘Beautiful Days’ by tackling inequalities and changing health outcomes for children, for generations to come www.leedshospitalscharity.org.uk/donate
Be a part of the swishiest, sploshiest, squelchiest art trail ever. Join us on #LeedsBearHunt we’re going to find 🐻
