A fundraising effort is under way to keep a Peter Pan penguin in JM Barrie’s home town of Kirriemuir.
Kirriemuir Regeneration Group is receiving the backing of locals to build up a pot of money to buy the statue, which is part of the Maggie’s Dundee penguin parade.
Eighty individually designed, giant penguins on the trail will be sold at auction on September 24 to raise money for Maggie’s, which provides support for people living with cancer.
Heather Kelly, 53, a scrub nurse, and Jeanette Reioch, 43, an occupational therapist, have organised an exercise challenge to raise cash for the war chest.
Members of the public can sign up to run, walk or cycle between 50 and 300 miles during the month of August.
Heather said: “We both have had family members that have succumbed to cancer.
“We also wanted to help the Maggie’s Centre raise funds to continue the work they do.
“We want to help build a pot of money to keep Peter Pan penguin in Kirriemuir and are trying to do our bit.
“We know having the community penguin in Kirriemuir has increased the number of people visiting the town.
“Peter Pan is synonymous with Kirriemuir and JM Barrie and we want it to stay here and become a permanent feature in the town.
“The challenge is a way of helping this community cause and encouraging people to increase their fitness at the same time.”
Penguin fans are being challenged to find all 80 penguins positioned in a host of different locations across Dundee city centre, Broughty Ferry, St Andrews, Newport on Tay, Perth, Kirriemuir and Brechin.
From golfers to comic book characters, pilots to footballers, each penguin showcases a one-off design inspired by everything from the history of Dundee to climate change concerns.
The Peter Pan penguin is currently proving extremely popular sitting beside the Bon Scott statue in Kirriemuir.
Heather said: “I have always been keen on keeping fit and exercising.
“We have been cycling now for about 14 months.
“Last year we challenged ourselves to complete the Audax in September which is a long-distance cycling event.”
The Peter Pan penguin was designed by artist Maureen Crosbie and Peter’s outfit is based on the original Arthur Rackham Peter Pan illustrations.
Kirriemuir people also contributed to the finished piece by painting individual leaves on Peter’s outfit.
The fee to join the challenge is £10 for adults and £5 for children under 16.
At the end of August everyone involved will send their mileage and they get a medal for taking part.
People can find out more by going to https://www.facebook.com/events/277648866116369/?ti=icl
