BINOCULARS at the ready! Giraffes, elephants and penguins are stomping the streets of Sale.

Sale Art Zoo, a seven-week public exhibition in celebration of Sale-born zoo founder George Mottershead and the town’s artistic talent, was officially launched on Saturday July 23.

Families were invited to the unveiling of the sculptures, which can be seen dotted around the town centre.

A children’s entertainer ran a series of workshops, face-painters and balloon artists were out in force, and Little Belters provided the musical entertainment.

Goodie bags were also up for grabs.

Two-by-Two co-founder Zoe Taylor said: “Our launch has been an absolutely fantastic start to the summer of Sale Art Zoo.

“The Waterside Plaza has been full of families enjoying themselves and celebrating with us.

“We are so proud of all the children and community groups that have worked on the project and come out today to celebrate the animals.

“It is so important to us that Sale takes great pride in its heritage and its future - projects like this reflect both of those. We hope the animals are well loved and looked after by the community.”

For the duration of the exhibition (which wraps up on September 11), Sale Library will be hosting an interactive exhibition on Chester Zoo founder George Mottershead. Historian George Cogswell will also be holding a talk on the zoo founder on Saturday July 30 at 2pm at the Claremont Music Centre in Sale.

In two weeks time, Sale Art Zoo will also be hosting a special Giraffe Fun Day at The Square.

The celebration will take place on Saturday August 13 from 11am-3pm.

Two by Two will be facilitating a craft workshop making ‘Giraff-iscopes’ (periscopes to be decorated in a giraffe style), and story-telling sessions “Tall Stories” will be held in The Square, close to the 12ft and 6ft giraffes on display.

Storytellers and staff from Sale Library will be there to share stories featuring giraffes or zoo themes, and promoting the Summer Reading Challenge to children.

Sale Arts Zoo ‘trail’ maps can be picked up from Tesco, Sale Library, The Square Shopping Centre, Bean and Brush, Traders Outlet, Waterside Arts Centre, The Life Centre and Serendipitea.

For more information, visit saleartzoo.co.uk.