THE long-awaited Gromit Unleashed 3 charity fundraiser is under way – with two statues on the trail in the Kingswood area.
Both are models of Norbot, the robot gnome in the latest Wallace & Gromit film. Starcatcher in Kingswood Park is designed by the children’s illustrator and author Oliver Jeffers, based on his popular book How to Catch a Star. It is sponsored by Dick Lovett. The sculpture at Warmley Waiting Room is called Sweet and Tidy and is designed by Simon Tozer and sponsored by Global Furniture Alliance.
Also close by is a Gromit at the Rose & Crown in Pucklechurch, which is based on the Jungle Book character Mowgli.
A Gromit called Walk the Lime will stand outside Wai Yee Hong Chinese supermarket in Eastgate Road, which is sponsoring the statue, until August 31. It has been created by artist Katie Wallis.
At nearby Ikea there will be another Gromit, called Marigold, by artist Sofia Barton.
The trail features more than 50 statues of Wallace, Gromit, Feathers and Norbot, with decorations inspired by film, stories and legends.
It launched on June 30 and will run throughout the summer until August 31 to raise funds for the Grand Appeal for Bristol Children’s Hospital.
Since the first Gromit Unleashed trail in 2013, followed in 2015 by Shaun in the City, then Gromit Unleashed in 2018, £20 million has been raised for the charity, through sponsorship, donations, exhibitions, souvenirs and the auctions held at the end of the trail.
Among those who have helped create designs this year is Sir Paul McCartney, who has designed one based on The Beatles’ Yellow Submarine, and film director Richard Curtis, whose Gromit, Love Actually is at Cabot Circus.
Pixar have designed a Gromit Woody, from Toy Story, which will be at Cribbs Causeway, and this year there will be six Norbots – the robot gnome from the latest Wallace and Gromit film Vengeance Most Fowl – joining Gromit, Wallace, Feathers and Shaun the Sheep on the 53-statue trail.
Grand Appeal director Nicola Masters said: “By following the trail, families, friends, residents of Bristol and visitors from the UK and all over the world won’t just be part of a city-wide celebration of creativity – everyone will be helping to create a brighter, and better future for young patients in the children’s hospital.”
More details of the Gromit Unleashed 3 trail can be found at www.gromitunleashed.org.uk and the Grand Appeal social media channels.