Fifty stunning lighthouse sculptures are being installed this week, ready for the launch of Clan’s spectacular Light The North art trail.
The 2.5 metre-tall pieces, painted by some of the UK’s most talented artists, will shine a light across Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Moray, Orkney and Shetland from Monday August 9, when the trail is officially launched.
Organised in partnership with Wild in Art, which helped deliver Oor Wullie’s Big Bucket Trail in 2019, Light The North will be a major fundraiser for cancer support charity Clan.
The trail also aims to provide a “light in the dark” for those battling cancer and their families.
A team of Clan’s Light The North volunteers and drivers have now started delivering the 50 lighthouses to their specific locations.
Locals and visitors alike will soon be able to find out where each lighthouse is thanks to an interactive map that will be shared by the P&J and Evening Express when the trail officially kicks off.
Little lighthouses created by local schools for Light The North trail
Each of the 50 lighthouses is unique and backed by a local business. Evening Express, the P&J and Original 106 are among some of the sponsors to have their own dedicated lighthouse.
In addition to the main sculpture trail, 76 little lighthouses created by school pupils will be displayed all over the north of Scotland, including in Aberdeen Science Centre and a number of local businesses. The Evening Express and P&J will share an interactive map of the little lighthouses too.
More than 70 schools got involved in Clan’s education initiative which was created to give young people across the north-east, Moray, Orkney and Shetland the opportunity to get creative and help their school or group design a little lighthouse to be featured on the trail.
Lighthouse sculptures to be auctioned off to raise funds for cancer charity
At the end of this year’s Light The North trail, which will be present in each of the areas where Clan Cancer Support operates, all the main 50 lighthouse sculptures will be auctioned off to raise funds for the charity so that it can continue supporting people affected by cancer.
Fiona Fernie, Clan’s head of income generation and business development, said: “Clan helps people live with and beyond a cancer diagnosis, but we need your help to continue to be there for them. We’ve seen high demand for our services while facing a significant drop in our income.
“Cancer is not going away, and our services are more indispensable than ever, so we want to encourage everyone to get out and support Clan through Light The North.”
Clan’s Light The North Farewell Weekend will take place from Friday October 29 to Sunday October 31 and the auction is planned for Monday November 1.