New art trail created in Worcester to celebrate city's historical links to pears
10 heritage-themed sculptures of the fruit have gone on display throughout the city centre
A new project has been launched in Worcester aiming to give people the opportunity to explore and learn more about the city's and county's connection to a particular fruit.
The Worcester Pear Trail has been created by the Worcester Business Improvement District (BID) in partnership with Visit Worcestershire, with 10 sculptures of the fruit now on display in the windows of businesses across the city centre.
Its been inspired by Queen Elizabeth I’s visit to Worcester, where its believed she was greeted by an orchard of pear trees and picked a pear directly from one of the trees.
Project and communications manager for Worcester BID, Abbey Tocchini, said each sculpture has a QR code on it, which gives visitors the chance to scan it and hear about Worcester’s pear heritage and the story behind each trail location.
"It aims to show off the local history with a mix of written stories and short video clips," she said.
"Pears are such a massive part of Worcester's identity so creating a city-wide sculpture felt like the perfect way to celebrate that story.
"If you look around Worcester, on the bridge, in different parts, you can still spot pears all around the city to this day."
Alongside the sculptures, which have all been designed by Worcester BID’s creative lead Catt Standen, another 35 businesses have also joined in by having pear blossom artwork displayed on their windows.
Lorna Robinson, visitor economy and destination manager of Visit Worcestershire, said: “The Worcester Pear Trail shows what can be achieved through strong partnership working, bringing together our businesses, creativity and heritage to deliver something truly accessible & engaging for the summer.
"It offers a simple, fun way for families and visitors to explore Worcester’s rich history, supporting our wider ‘Summer of Heritage’ campaign across the County.
"Most importantly, it’s another reason for people to spend time in the city, discover its stories, and see first-hand why the city and wider Worcestershire holds such an important place in England’s history.”
The trail runs until the 4 September.