Have you heard of the Elephant Parade? Elephant Parade is the world’s largest open air art exhibition of decorated elephant statues that seeks to attract public awareness and support for Asian elephant conservation. It was all started back in 2006 by father-son duo, Marc and Mike Spits. While on holiday in Thailand, Marc had the chance to meet Mosha, a baby elephant at the Friends of the Asian Elephant Hospital in Chiang Mai. Mosha had lost her leg after stepping on a land mine. Mosha inspired Marc to create the Elephant Parade, and is the reason why each elephant sculpture has a band of hearts around one ankle.
Photo from the Elephant Parade website
The Elephant Parade is currently in the middle of its UK tour, setting up shop at the intu Victoria Centre and intu Broadmarsh in Nottingham. Minh and I had a free weekend, so we decided to head into town and follow the elephant trail. This is the one that was special for Mosha.
We were able to see all of the elephants on parade, except one – it wasn’t anywhere to be found! Not all of the elephants in the Elephant Parade Series were on display during the UK tour, but we were able to see 30 of the larger elephants and 6 mini elephants that were designed by local schools and groups.
While perusing the Elephant Parade website, I saw that they were in Dana Point just before Thanksgiving.. did any of my SoCal friends get a chance to check them out while they were there? If you’re interested in painting your own elephant, you can purchase an Elephant Parade Art Box, which comes with a 15 cm white elephant sculpture and some paints to help you get started. Check out there website for more inspiration or to purchase one the already existing designs!
Last one of the post, this was my favorite, located inside the Nottingham Tourism Center. I especially loved the penguins.
Think Tran 