News
Businesses & celebrities take charity project to new heights
Thursday 11 November 2010
A part of Edinburgh is being taken over by some rather unique animals as Stockbridge hosts the first ever Giraffe Parade on Thursday 11 November.
Around 40 local businesses purchased a 5ft giraffe and have been busy decorating them over the last few weeks. One of the giraffes has been signed by “Tears of a Giraffe” author Alexander McCall Smith and another by the Scottish rugby team. Comedian Craig Hill, will be launching the event that will see all of the giraffes parade through Stockbridge (with a little help from their owners) before being auctioned for charity.
Eleanor Spens, owner of The Laurel Gallery, explains how the Giraffe Parade began: "My friend Rhona, from another business called Kiss the Fish, has a giraffe outside her shop and I had the idea of doing a mini-version of the Cow Parade for Stockbridge. We both thought it seemed a fun way to get the businesses working together to raise the profile of Stockbridge which we felt is often overlooked."
"We have lovely independent shops which need as much help to keep their doors open as possible in this tough time, which in turn keeps our village looking good. We felt that if we combined it with a charity event then we could raise the profile of Stockbridge whilst raising money for charity."
After being displayed for a month, the giraffes will be auctioned off with all the proceeds going to CHILDREN 1ST and LifeCare Edinburgh. Giraffes were also purchased by businesses and donated to local schools and churches so they could also be involved in the parade.
Rebecca Milne, Regional Fundraiser for CHILDREN 1ST, said: "We’ve have been really looking forward to seeing the giraffes in all their decorated glory. The shop owners have been very creative with their designs and it’s been great to see everyone in the local community get behind the project. We are of course really thankful that they have chosen CHILDREN 1ST as one of the charities to benefit from this initiative. Money raised from the auction will help the children in Scotland that need our help the most."
The Giraffe Parade will start at St Bernard’s Row at 6.30pm and will receive a send off by The Stockbridge Pipe Band. They will then march over the Stock Bridge and onto Kerr Street before turning into Saunders Street Square for the launch speech and photos. Members of the public are welcome to come and watch the parade. The Stockbridge shops will be open late on Thursday and will be offering customers special discounts and offers.
Last updated: Thursday 11 November 2010
