The first public event to celebrate next year’s Panda Meander Sculpture Trail will be held this school half-term.
Free creative workshops will take place at the Grand Arcade shopping centre in Cambridge from Friday to Sunday (29-31 May), at which children and families will be able to create their own panda club thumbprints to take away.
The first sculpture for the Panda Meander sculpture trail. Picture: Paul Brackley
The workshops are being held to celebrate the latest sculpture trail coming to the city, following the Cows about Cambridge and Standing Tall giraffe trails.
For 10 weeks, from 20 March to 29 May, 2027, between 30 and 40 painted giant panda sculptures will pop up across the city, its green spaces and hidden corners, each decorated by an artist and sponsored by a business or organisation.
More than 30 smaller baby pandas decorated by schools and community groups, as part of the trail’s ‘Cub Club’, will also feature in the trail, which will benefit Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust (ACT) and was announced earlier this year.
It will use the money to boost children’s care in the region and help fund the new Cambridge Children’s Hospital.
ACT is organising the trail in partnership with Wild in Art, and the Cambridge Independent is the media partner.
The Panda Meander trail in 2027 will raise money for Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust. Picture: ACT
Project manager Georgia Pallett said: “We’re really excited to be at Grand Arcade over one of the half-term weekends promoting sponsorship opportunities of our upcoming Spring 2027 Wild in Art trail, Panda Meander.
“Whether you’re a business who would like to sponsor one of our wonderful pandas, like the Grand Arcade, or your child is part of a school/community group who could join our Cub Club, please visit www.pandameander.co.uk to find out how to get involved.
“As part of Grand Arcade’s Let’s Go Circular initiative, we will be joined by our lead trail partner Cheffins, encouraging families to get into pandastic spirit by taking part in our panda thumbprint craft activity.”
The panda was chosen as the animal for this trail in recognition of the Paediatric and Neonatal Decision and Support Retrieval service (PaNDR) service, which transports the region’s sickest babies and children from hospital to the nearest intensive care unit, across Cambridgeshire, Suffolk and Norfolk.
ACT, which raised funds to help establish the service in 2019, aids Addenbrooke’s and the Rosie by funding cutting-edge equipment, specialist staff, extra comforts and pioneering research beyond what the NHS can provide.
Martin Macwhinnie, centre manager at Grand Arcade, said: “The Panda Meander city art trail will be a fantastic opportunity to support a crucial infrastructure for our community, while enlivening the city. Grand Arcade has committed to pledge and will host a number of pandatastic sculptures in 2027. In the meantime, we are delighted to involve Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust into our Let’s Go Circular campaign around sustainability and to give an exclusive preview of the trail to our visitors.”
The workshops will be held on Friday from 1-5pm, on Saturday from 10am-4pm and on Sunday from 11am-5pm.
Panda Meander workshops will take place in the Grand Arcade. Picture: ACT
Sarah Bush, head of residential at professional services and auctioneering firm Cheffins, said: “As the first public event connected to the trail, it promises to be a fantastic opportunity for families to see the first panda cub sculpture up close and enjoy a range of creative craft activities designed to bring this exciting project to life ahead of the main trail launch.”
Large panda sculptures can be sponsored for £7,000 plus VAT and will be auctioned off at the end of the trail. Schools and community groups can sponsor a baby panda sculpture for £750 plus VAT and will be able to keep their panda at the end of the trail.
Find out more at pandameander.co.uk.