A leading cancer support charity has announced that its art sculpture trail, due to take place next month, has been postponed to later this year.
CLAN’s Light the North appeal was hoping to have 50 2.5-metre-tall lighthouses set up throughout the north-east and Northern Isles designed by artists across the UK and beyond.
However due to ongoing coronavirus restrictions, the popular event is now taking this autumn with an official launch date yet to be announced.
This is the second time this specific trail has been postponed as it was initially set to run in March 2020, before being given the go-ahead for spring this year.
Fiona Fernie, CLAN’s head of income generation and business development, said: “In light of the ongoing restrictions, we have decided to postpone CLAN’s Light the North Trail until autumn 2021 to provide a safe experience for our artists, staff and the general public taking part.
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“The sculptures may not be live; however, the excitement continues.”
Design firm Mearns and Gill came up with the name and brand for the scheme, which will provide a trail stretching all the way from Stonehaven to Shetland.
The trail aims to provide a “light in the dark” for those with cancer and their families, while raising vital funds for CLAN.
It is being held in conjunction with Wild in Art, which helped deliver Oor Wullie’s Big Bucket Trail in 2019.
The Oor Wullie’s Big Bucket Trail – held in Scotland’s five main cities – raised more than £1.3m for children’s hospital charities including the Archie Foundation in the north-east.
It also drew thousands of children and families, who could tick off each sculpture they visited via an interactive map.
Fiona added: “It has been excellent to witness schools from across the north-east and Northern Isles create genuine pieces of art while learning about cancer, marine biology, and Scottish lighthouse history.
“And also, to see the sneak previews of our 50 sponsored lighthouses taking shape as our incredible artists put paintbrushes to sculpture. I encourage you to look at our social media to see what they have been creating!
“We want to thank everyone for your continued support, and we can’t wait to shine a light on the north-east and Northern Isles with our sculptures later this year!”
The charity has a number of sponsors for the lighthouses including City Fibre, the UK’s largest alternative provider of wholesale fibre network infrastructure.
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