BUDDING young artists are being invited to create their own vision of the Worcester to Birmingham Canal as part of a festival celebrating the waterway’s 200th anniversary.
A painting competition is being held as part of next month’s Worcester Canal Festival, with children invited to create a work of art showing what the canal means to them.
The competition is being held in memory of founder member of the Worcester Canal Group – one of the organisers of the festival – Elizabeth Parker, who died in July 2013.
The group’s chairman Cllr Joy Squires said she was pleased the community stalwart was being remembered in this way.
“Not only was Elizabeth herself a talented artist but she had the ability to inspire others with her enthusiasm for what could be achieved to improve the canal area,” she said.
“It is truly fitting that we are establishing the Elizabeth Parker Memorial Prize for paintings of the canal at the Canal Festival.”
The competition has two categories – primary school and secondary school ages – and winning entries will be framed courtesy of The Paintbox in Mealcheapen Street.
The three-day Worcester Canal Festival based around Lansdowne Park will begin on Friday, June 12 and will include live music, sideshows, a flotilla of canal boats and other attractions, with funds going towards a range of charities and organisations.
The event is being organised by a collaboration of different groups in the area including the Worcester Canal Group and the Arboretum Residents Association and is part of a series of events along the entire length of the canal marking its bicentennial being co-ordinated by the Worcester, Birmingham and Droitwich Canals Society.
The Worcester to Birmingham Canal stretches 29 miles and has 58 locks. Construction began in 1791 and the canal fully opened 24 years later in December 1815.
Entries must be taken to the Worcester Canal Group tent at the festival by 6pm on Saturday, June 13 and will be displayed throughout the weekend.
Paintings must be no bigger than A3 size and entries must include the name of the child as well as their age and school.
For more information visit www.worcestercanalgroup.org.uk.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here