Statues come to life in City of Culture parade

Statues including a bronze stag and an alpaca called Salt and Pepper have come to life as part of a parade celebrating Bradford's City of Culture year.

The statues from Bowling Park and Lister Park have inspired Statuesque – a walkabout arts act featuring living statues and toured around Bradford, starting in Bowling Park earlier.

The creations have been brought to life by artists Naomi Parker and Rachel Hyde – director of stilt walking company Chicks on Sticks.

Ms Parker, who led the parade dressed as a squirrel, said: "The bear is inspired by the three bear statues in the playground of Bowling Park, and the stag is inspired by the bronze statue of a stag in Lister Park."

The parade will also appear at Cliffe Castle Park in August and Lister Park in September.

The stag and bear were joined by two other local characters – Bracewell the Dragon inspired by Cliffe Castle and Salt and Pepper the Alpaca, based on Saltaire's history.

Statuesque took place at the Beacon, a pop-up arts venue created for Bradford's City of Culture Year, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The venue is currently in Bowling Park, and Saturday's event also invited visitors to create their own artwork at a family-friendly crafts workshop.

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