Why hares? How to find out more Well, the brown hare has been part of Cotswold Follow us on Instagram for sneak peeks culture for a very long time, lending its name of the hares visit www.instagram.com to villages and special places - Harescombe, Follow us on Twitter for live tweets of Haresfield, Harebushes, Harnhill, (once Harehill). the trail @cirenhare Hares can often be spotted in our Cotswold fields - mysterious creatures which have Like us on Facebook for Cotswold Hare Trail fascinated people for centuries. Look around news: Cirencester March Hare Festival and see the hare reprsented in art from the Roman hare mosaic in Cirencester to the Web: www.cirencesterharefestival.org.uk tapestries of medieval halls, Saxon carvings Email: [email protected] on church porches to the 21st century hare 07780 624951 images that adorn so many current artists work. Phone: Whilst the brown hare numbers decline across the county due to much loss of their natural Our Patrons and Charity Partners grasslands habitats, they are thriving in the Dame Janet Trotter DBE H.M. Lord Lieutenant of the Cotswolds and being so woven into the legends County of Gloucestershire of the area, are a natural choice of animal to The Right Honourable The Earl Bathhurst celebrate with our Festival. Vanessa Arbuthnott Prof. Chris Gaskell Why March? The Right Honourable Countess Bathurst March has been chosen to start our Festival since this is the month primarily associated with Hares hares. Hares are closely associated with Easter which often falls in March. Hares were sacred to unite the the goddess for Spring, fertility and rebirth; Oestra after which Cotswolds! Easter is named. “This has been a brilliant, brilliant idea beautifully carried out by everyone.“ A percentage of the proceeds will go towards our Charity from the 25th March A quote from one of last of the Year. The National year’s Festival visitors. Star Centre. until 10th September 2017 March Hare leaflet 2017.indd 1 7/28/16 12:52 PM The Cotswold Hare Trail Get your Town or Village hares are hopping all over the Cotswolds! on the map - Sponsor a Hare Worcester Stratford-upon-Avon Hare sculptures, hand painted and decorated by a range of local artists have adorned public spaces in M40 and around Cirencester since 2014 during the March Hare Festivals. Evesham As the Cirencester Hare Trail has been such a great success, we are now looking to populate the whole of Banbury Chipping the Cotswolds with fabulously decorated giant hares. Campden Broadway M50 It all starts NOW, here’s how you can get involved. Snowshill Sign up for a hare choose an artist to decorate Tewkesbury Moreton-in-Marsh Hook Norton M40 it, and advertise your business in a unique way by M5 Winchcombe putting your name and logo on the plinth. When you Chipping Norton sponsor a hare you can enjoy exclusive sponsor Stow-on-the-Wold events, and additional benefits from Upper Slaughter Cheltenham association with the festival. Boughton-on-the-Water Gloucester Woodstock Town Hares Brockworth Northleach Suitable for businesses, large Burford and small and individuals. Not Painswick Witney Frampton only do you get a range of sponsor on Severn Bibury Oxford benefits - including increased Stroud Barnsley M5 tourism and visitor spending in your Cirencester town - we also reward you by giving Lechlade Nailsworth back 10% of the auction sale price Kemble of your hare! Tetbury Cricklade Highworth Malmesbury Country Hares M5 Put your village on the map by all clubbing together to buy one hare. Chipping M4 M4 The more people join - the less it costs! Sodbury M4 Bristol Chippenham For more information and to Please check with our website for any variations and for new additions. This is one of our request a sponsorship form: Follow the trail on our website at www.cirencesterharefestival.org.uk Hare sculptures before decoration. [email protected] March Hare leaflet 2017.indd 2 7/28/16 12:52 PM.