Commemorating a once long-forgotten bet, the Pig Walk Parade in Stoke-on-Trent may be one of the strangest and newest celebrations in the UK.
The parade commemorates a bet made between a Mayor and an aristocrat, which saw the Mayor run with a pig over five miles between two towns.
For his troubles, the Mayor won a sizeable amount of land from the Nobleman, on top of which he built a park and a hospital.
The tale has been celebrated annually since 2023 in the North Staffordshire city of Stoke-on-Trent.
The Mayor was local pottery merchant, John Aynsley, who served at his post in the late 1800s. The Mayor’s aristocratic bookie was the Duke of Sutherland, a member of one of the richest landowning families in the country.
More accurately, the Pig Walk Parade is celebrated in Longton, one of the six towns that comprise the polycentric city.
The story is commemorated every year via a parade through the town centre.
The centre piece of the parade is Jolly the giant pig, named after the famous cabaret venue that once stood in Longton.
Every year, the pig marches through the town centre, followed by musicians, live performers, artists and members of the community dressed in themed costumes.
The Pig Walk Parade and carnival was first celebrated in 2023, making this a new addition to the local culture. The celebration was the brainchild of the Urban Wilderness CIC team based in Longton.
Urban Wilderness is an independent, socially engaged arts organisation that is committed to working with different communities.
The group is driven by a shared belief of working with feminist assumptions that respective communications, collaboration and care can build forward-thinking place-based partnerships that adjust previous power structures for a more equal existence.
The group’s three founding directors are Laurel Gallagher, Jenny Harper and Isla Telford.
Isla Telford, the creative producer and events organiser, said the idea for a Pig Parade started after the COVID-19 pandemic left a hole in the local community.
She said; “During Covid, we couldn’t work with communities or young people – when we came back to work, we were looking around and all the community groups had completely disintegrated.
“So, we thought the most meaningful thing we could do was use our art to engage, encourage and build community again.”
The community-building aspect by Urban Wilderness through the Pig Parade is key, especially in understanding the dramatic changes Longton has been through over the past thirty years.
The town was once famed worldwide for its pottery production. It is said that the Aynsley company of Longton was a favourite of the British royal family, with Queen Elizabeth II choosing their ceramic products as wedding presents.
The people and businesses of Longton had once helped to create pieces of art that defined the wealth and prosperity of an entire empire.
However, in the late 1980’s the town was hit hard by a general decline in the British Manufacturing sector and more recently, remaining ceramic works were impacted by the economic effects of the war in Ukraine and the cost of living crisis.
Being so closely tied to the ceramic industry meant that the town and its communities suffered when the pottery business slowly started to disappear.
The last thirty years or so have not been too kind to Longton; hit by further economic decline as well as austerity measures by successive governments and then the COVID pandemic, the town didn’t have much to celebrate
Then, in stepped the Mayor, the Duke and the Pig.
To reinvigorate the town, Urban Wilderness started the ‘What if Longton’ scheme. This was a yearlong project in which local people could voice their opinions on what they wanted to see in the town.
After talking to the community in Longton, Isla Telford said there was a real desire for change.
She said; “Everybody had really lovely, striking memories, there was a big yearning for the carnivals of the 1980s and 1990s, people saw those as symbols of community prosperity – we thought it would be nice to have one that could only really come from Longton.”
The challenge then was to find a theme which was both relevant to the area and eye-catching enough to attract people.
The story of the Pig Walk stood out as something that could be turned into a carnival or parade when researching local folklore.
She said; “It’s a nice story about taking risks and winning, coming out on top.
“Going back to the 1880s, then the mayor of Longton – was a bit of a cheeky chappy and he made a bet that he could drive a pig from Trentham into Longton, he won the bet along with land for the local park and cottage hospital.”
Since starting the annual celebration three years ago, attendance has skyrocketed. The first Pig Walk saw around nine thousand people turn out in 2023, this was more than doubled the next year in 2024, with twenty thousand people visiting, and predictions for this year are close to the thirty-thousand mark.
Isla said that high attendance numbers were down to people in Longton wanting to enjoy themselves as a community after being unable to for so long.
She said; “I think people really love the opportunity to come out and have fun and do something a bit silly.
“They can dress up and get involved in something engaging with their family, It’s a very family-focused event, it’s very inclusive.”
Although its official title is the ‘Longton Festival and Pig Walk Parade’, Isla said it celebrates much more than the history of a pig.
She said; “It’s about coming together in spring and telling an old story.
“We have a lot of opportunities to get involved – we made the invitation to come together and have some fun, and people accepted, It’s been great.”
A whole host of artists have been involved in the celebration over the last few years. Right from the outset, Urban Wilderness focused on nurturing local talent, using their community programme of making.
Isla Telford said; “Some costumes featured in the parade have been made by people from all over Stoke-on-Trent – we have a little kit that is sent out to schools and care homes.”
As the festival has grown in size over the years, it has managed to attract artists from further afield. A group of artists named the ‘Pom-Pom People’ took part in their first Pig Walk Parade this year.
Naz and Nic, also known as ‘The Pom-Pom People’, travelled over one hundred and thirty miles, all the way from Newport, South Wales, to take part in the festivities.
They said that they were there to spread radical kindness and joy through the gifting of pom-poms. During the day, they created these pom-pom messages with local children in art workshops. They were then handed out to onlookers during the parade.
The back of one pom-pom read, “I hope you make time for the things that bring you joy.”
Naz, one of the artists involved in the project, said that the local community had been very welcoming.
They said; “From the beginning, there’s been so much support – I’m a neurodiverse disabled artist, for me, as access is a real issue sometimes, but I felt really supported today throughout it all.”
Naz said they had been reminded of home in South Wales when she had seen the community spirit on display in Stoke-on-Trent.
She said; “I love Longton, it reminds me of Newport with that kind of community vibe and feeling of everybody coming together It’s been really magical, I didn’t really expect all the different costumes and colour.
“I felt like a proper part of the community here – I’m amazed at the costumes as well, so much creativity – and everyone’s so confident.”
It’s clear to see that the event was empowering, even for people from over one hundred and thirty miles away. Closer to home, local businesses in Longton reacted very positively to the event.
Longton-born business owner Dave Hawkins said the annual event was a massive boost for his Record shop.
He said; “It’s a big positive, last time over fifteen thousand people came to the town, I’ve always lived in Longton, and I don’t think I’ve seen that many people for a long time… maybe ever.”
After years of decline in the area, he said putting Longton back on the map would only help local businesses.
He said; “We need events like this, throughout the week and on rainy days it can be quiet, so anything that promotes the town, gets people to recognise the town – can only be a good thing.”
Dave spoke very highly of the Urban Wilderness team and all their efforts to transform Longton.
He said; “The ladies who have actually organised the events are across the road from me I see them on a regular basis, it’s great, I think it’s really positive what they’re doing.”
Another business that has benefited from the increased attention Longton is getting thanks to the Pig Walk Parade is the ‘So Very Dog’ shop.
The owner of the pet supply shop, Sarah Taylor, said the annual parade is always the busiest time of the year. She said; “The shop has been here for about twenty months now, and the Pig Walk in 2024 was the busiest day that we’ve had.”
Since opening, the shop has become a major attraction for dog owners. She said every dog that visits gets a sausage and their photo taken.
Last year’s Pig Parade was the most dogs she’s ever had in the shop. She said; “We had a record forty-eight dogs and a lot of new customers – this year there’s a lot of fresh faces.
Sarah praised the organisers of the event for their commitment to the town.
She said, “The girls that run the event from the Urban Wilderness are brilliant, their organisation skills are absolutely superb.
“They are an all-woman team as well, which I think is brilliant.”
Sarah said the main takeaway from the Pig Walk Parade was that it showed that Longton as a town was on the up.
The parade was also a chance to show the diversity of cultures that exist in the melting pot of modern-day Longton.
Food vendors served homemade dishes originating from the Caribbean, North Africa and South-East Asia. There were performances from Brazilian carnival drummers, Indo-Persian inspired theatre and English Morris Dancers.
The Morris Dancers that performed at the event were part of the Domesday Morris team based in Stoke-on-Trent. They are part of the Border Morris Tradition, which originates from people busking in the street during the harsh winters of the 19th century.
Lesley, a member of the Domesday Morris team, travelled from Stockport to take part in the parade, she described the day as “a proper community event.”
She said that being part of the Morris team allowed her to visit interesting places like Longton. She said; “ I’ve done it for years, you get to meet people, listen to music, go to interesting places, I’m trying to keep the tradition going.”
Many residents of Stoke-on-Trent were surprised by the number of visitors Longton had gotten thanks to the event. One such resident was Charlotte, who was born in Longton but now lives on the Staffordshire Moorlands.
She said; “What shocked me last year was seeing the amount of people that attended, perhaps to an area that they wouldn’t necessarily come to and supporting an activity that doesn’t normally happen.”
Allison Gardener, MP for Stoke-on-Trent South, led the Pig Walk Parade through the town centre dressed as a swan. In a statement released on her website, she praised the organisers for their efforts.
She said; “I want to give a huge shout-out to Urban Wilderness CIC, whose creativity, passion, and dedication helped bring the event to life. They are a real asset to our city, and I’m always so impressed by the energy and imagination they bring to every event.
“I had the honour of joining the parade as a sparkly white swan (yes, really!)—and it was such a treat to wave at all the fantastic people who turned out to support the event. Our town centre is going from strength to strength, and events like this are a powerful reminder of the pride we all share in our area.”
Photographic Journalism 
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