Walkies! Snowdogs to trail round Brighton and Hove again

Brighton and Hove’s wildly popular fundraising Snowdogs by the Sea are set to have a successor.

Martletts Hospice, which raised £310,000 through the Snowdog sculptures, will launch a new fundraising art trail in 2018.

The hospice has yet to reveal what design will be chosen for the 2018 sculpture, saying: “we aren’t giving anything away until later this year!”

Last year’s Snowdogs by the Sea art trail saw 44 giant hounds appear across the city, decorated with designs by artists and sponsored by local businesses.

The art trail was the result of a joint effort by the hospice, Penguin and Wild in Art who invited people to follow the Snowdog trail across the city to see the sculptures inspired by well-loved animated short film “The Snowman and the Snowdog”.

People following the Snowdogs by the Sea trail could explore the city looking for their favourite.

At the end of the trail – in November – the 44 giant pooches were auctioned off to raise money for the hospice. Merchandise and fundraising events themed around the dogs also helped Martlets provide hospice care to those in and around Brighton and Hove.

Imelda Glackin, Chief Executive for Martlets, said: “We are so grateful to the Brighton and Hove community for their enthusiasm throughout the Snowdog campaign.

“The engagement we have seen from individuals and local businesses has been phenomenal.

“We set out to create something that would bring life to the city, inspiring people to get involved with Martlets and to connect with the story of The Snowman and the Snowdog – a tale of loss, love, memories, and kindness at its heart, which mirrors our work at the hospice.

“The fundraising success we have seen as a result of the art trail has been incredible.”

Martlets is celebrating the success of the Snowdogs by the Sea art trail for the city’s economy, its culture and the hospice itself.

A spokesperson said: “To measure the success of the trail we have conducted in depth research with Wild In Art, our event partner, and we’re very pleased to now share the outcomes.

“Overall, the trail contributed £10.1 million to the local economy, which is an amazing amount! We also saw over 350,000 people visit the trail and more than 14.6 million social media impressions for the hashtag #BrightonSnowdogs.

“42% of visitors from Brighton & Hove said that they had visited a new attraction or place as a result of visiting the trail. This is unsurprising considering the total distance walked around the Snowdog Trail was approximately 2.6 million miles or the equivalent of walking around the earth 105 times!

“However, most importantly of all, Snowdogs by the Sea raised £310,000 for Martlets and achieved an unprecedented level of awareness, helping us to continue providing life changing hospice care.”