Primary schools in the Glenrothes area received unusual deliveries during the week as 18 hippos made their way into the town ahead of the Great Glenrothes Hippo Parade.
The parade, which has been organised by the Kingdom Shopping Centre, is designed to pay homage to the original series of concrete hippos in Glenrothes one of the town’s most loved and iconic art installations.
To celebrate, the shopping centre has worked with Fife Council and the Glenrothes Town Twinning Association to create a series of fibreglass hippos that will be painted by pupils at local primary schools.
A total of 18 schools have temporarily adopted one of the hippos, ready to paint it with their own design, with the decorated hippos being “paraded” through the shopping centre this summer.
Shoppers will be invited to vote for their favourite, with the winning school receiving £500 cash plus adoption of the hippo enclosure at Edinburgh Zoo.
The Hippo Parade forms part of the celebrations for the 40th anniversary of the twinning of Glenrothes with Boblingen in Germany, and will be shown to the party of delegates from the German town in June.
Councillor Fiona Grant, chairwoman of the Glenrothes area committee, said, “It’s great that the Kingdom Centre have asked local schoolchildren to help play a part in the celebrations and in such a unique way, drawing motivation from one of the most recognised pieces of town art.”
The formal launch of the Great Glenrothes Hippo Parade will take place in Lyon Square at 2.15pm on Saturday, June 18.