Norfolk Square’s newest resident- a tree monster

A giant tree monster has appeared in Norfolk Square, Hove ahead of Halloween.
Norfolk Square, Hove's newest resident- Marvin the monsterNorfolk Square, Hove's newest resident- Marvin the monster
Norfolk Square, Hove's newest resident- Marvin the monster

Affectionately known as ‘Marvin’, the monster is ready to put a smile on the faces of visitors to the area.

Marvin is the creation of Hove Co-operative Food manager, Steve Pelling.

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“We have been supporting the Norfolk Square Gardens Project for a number of years now as we want to make it a vibrant place for the whole community,” he said.

“We were asked by one of the organisers if we could help with a monster and we decided we would have a go.”

Being tasked with constructing such a monstrosity did not phase Steve and he enjoyed the task.

“I have an actor and a dancer as daughters, so over the years I have been asked to make various props.” he explained.

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“I like doing things like that anyway. The idea was to make it part of the tree.”

Steve said that the giant tree monster, which took him hours to make, resided in his front room for a few weeks before taking up residence in Norfolk Square Gardens.

“I just wanted to make a few children smile. Halloween is always a great opportunity to have a bit of a laugh.” Steve said.

The Co-operative Food, Hove is supporting the gardens as part of Southern Co-op’s community engagement programme ‘Love Your Neighbourhood’ which aims to help with creating greener, healthier, safer and more inclusive neighbourhoods.

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Damian Magee, organiser of the Norfolk Square Gardens Project, said: “We are delighted to have the support of Southern Co-op and absolutely love this creation which will be a great feature of the gardens for Halloween.

“Southern Co-op has been a wonderful support over the last two years for our community group.”

Marvin the Monster and Southern Co-op colleagues will be ready to greet visitors for a pumpkin carving session in the gardens tomorrow (October 30) from 1pm to 4pm.

To find out more about the ‘Love Your Neighbourhood’ programme, visit its website here.

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