The Big Bear Stomp puts 30 sculptures across Woking, Weybridge and Walton in summer 2027. Artists have until 16 December to submit, and the fee is £1,000.

Thirty life-sized painted bears will appear across Woking and north west Surrey in July and August 2027, and the people who paint them are being recruited now.

The Big Bear Stomp is a Wild in Art sculpture trail raising money for Woking & Sam Beare Hospice, which turns 30 in 2027. The call for artists opened on 20 August and closes at midnight on 16 December 2026. Selected artists are paid a £1,000 honorarium (The Big Bear Stomp, artists).

Victoria Place, the shopping centre in the town centre, became one of the first named sponsors on 2 September. As a sponsor it gets to pick the artist and design for its bear and choose where it stands (The Big Bear Stomp, 2 September 2026).

What the trail actually is

The sculptures are two metres long and go outdoors in town centres, parks and open spaces. The organisers describe the footprint as “the towns of Weybridge, Walton and Woking and beyond into Surrey’s beautiful countryside”, so this is a north west Surrey trail rather than a Woking-only one. Weybridge and Walton are both in Elmbridge, roughly six and eight miles from Woking town centre.

Alongside the 30 large bears there is a second, smaller set. Bear Cubs measure 1,000mm long and 665mm high, are decorated by schools and community groups, and go on show indoors along the route (The Big Bear Stomp, Cub Club).

The trail is free to walk. A trail map and the Wild in Art app will list the locations. At the end, the large bears are auctioned, with the proceeds going to the hospice (The Big Bear Stomp, art trail).

The dates that matter

Timeline of the Big Bear Stomp: artist design deadline 16 December 2026, sponsors choose designs in February 2027, bears distributed to artists on 4 March 2027, painted bears returned by 20 May 2027, cubs to schools in May 2027, trail runs July and August 2027, auction on 16 September 2027

The published timetable runs:

  • 16 December 2026 deadline for artists’ design submissions
  • February 2027 sponsors select the designs they want and artists are told
  • 4 March 2027 the blank bears are distributed to the selected artists
  • 20 May 2027 painted bears due back
  • July and August 2027 the trail is live
  • 16 September 2027 the bears are auctioned

What it means for you

If you paint. Designs go on a 2D template downloaded from the trail’s own site, and you need a Google account to use the submission form. The organisers say they are “especially keen to see designs from local and regional artists” and that a communal studio will be available to work in locally. Read the artist pack before submitting, because it carries the terms and conditions. Note the shape of the process: submitting a design does not get you a bear. Sponsors choose the designs in February, so an unpicked design is not paid.

Charlie Langhorne, managing director of Wild in Art, said the trail is “an exceptional opportunity for artists to help Woking and Sam Beare Hospice transform Surrey into a fun, free art gallery next summer.”

If you run a school or a community group. The Cub Club is the way in. Groups get a Bear Cub in May 2027 with a learning resource pack, decorate it, and keep it afterwards when it comes back at the end of August 2027. It is not free: the adoption fee is £100, and groups also commit to raising £1,000 for the hospice through fundraising by the end of September 2027. The contact is 01483 359856. Anyone weighing it up should treat that £1,100 total as the real ask, and check the fundraising is realistic before signing.

If you run a business. Sponsorship packages start at £6,500 plus VAT, and the organisers say other packages can be built to suit. A sponsor picks the artist, the design and the location.

If you just want to see it. Nothing to do yet. The trail is ten months away and locations are not published. The hospice’s own newsletter sign-up is on the trail site.

Why the hospice

Woking & Sam Beare Hospice is an independent charity covering north west Surrey. It runs a 20-bed inpatient unit with round-the-clock care, and says more than 70 per cent of its care is delivered in people’s own homes. Its services are free to patients (The Big Bear Stomp, charity).

The first bear already exists. Named Blossom and painted by the artist Jill Busby, it was unveiled at the Hilton in Woking in June, with the hospice patron Andy Hodgson leading the event. The name was chosen by hospice staff (The Big Bear Stomp, 27 June 2026).

More Woking local information: things to do in Woking, parking and train times to London.