A five-metre-tall fox puppet on a scooter will tour seven towns as part of a Historic England project to “celebrate the identity and history of high streets”. The mechanical puppet, which will be animated by two puppeteers from the inside, has been called Farrah, meaning joy in Arabic.
Historic England said that a fox was chosen as they are “known for their resilience and ability to adapt – just like our high streets have done over the years”. The tour, called Hi! Street Fest, is part of the High Streets Heritage Action Zones programme – a £95 million government-funded initiative led by Historic England.
The initiative, designed to secure lasting improvements to high streets, has restored historic buildings and given them new uses, and also has a cultural programme. Hi! Street Fest is the largest and final commission of its cultural programme, which has additional funding from Arts Council England and the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
