Cow-Moonity in-put sought

With around 200 life-size fibre glass cows expected on the streets of Belfast, Londonderry and further afield, the organisers urgently want to hear from community groups to submit their own cows for display.

To that end, Cow Parade NI in conjunction with the City Council has devised a ‘Cow-Moonity Programme’ for community and voluntary groups across the city to design 10 of the cows. The winning designs will be developed and painted by an accredited artist working within a public painting space either within your community or in another public venue.

When complete the winning cows will be placed in one of the prime CowParade locations for the duration of the event which will run from June to September.

CowParade will be officially launched at the Balmoral Show on May 18, when all the winning cows will be entered into a ‘Best of Breed’ and ‘Best of Show’ competition that will be judged at the show.

CowParade organiser Rachel Hart, said: “We’re looking for unique and creative cow designs that reflect the vibrancy and culture of your community and its people. We want designs that tell your story and something of your heritage.”

Catherine Cooke, co-ordinator of the Foyle Women’s Information Network, said: “We’re really excited about CowParade and will definitely be taking part in this exciting competition and would encourage other community groups across the city to get involved with the fun.”

The deadline for submitting entries is 2 March 2012. Full details of how to get involved are available from