The Portsmouth Lion Trail's final act

If you spent the summer hunting lions across Portsmouth, there is one last chapter to the story. The Pride of Portsmouth Lion Trail, the free public art trail that marked the city's centenary, officially closed on Sunday 13 September after eight weeks, but all 45 sculptures and the roaming unicorn are being brought together for one final appearance. On Saturday 3 October, they will be reunited at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard as part of the Our Naval City Festival, a major Portsmouth100 celebration.

The festival runs from 10:00 to 21:00 and is put on by The Mary Rose Museum and Portsmouth Historic Quarter. The lion reunion is the centrepiece, and it is the first time you can see all 45 lions in one place after they spent the summer spread across the city. Around them, the day fills out with talks led by the University of Portsmouth, family activities, market stalls, charity stands and live music. You can still collect the sculptures on the Pride of Portsmouth app during the event, though the rewards programme ended when the trail closed on 13 September, so it is more about the hunt than the prizes now.

It is worth a quick recap of what you are actually looking at. The trail launched in July as a free, family-friendly way to mark Portsmouth's centenary, and more than 11,000 people took part. Each of the 45 lions was uniquely designed by a commissioned artist and inspired by Portsmouth's people, places, coastline and culture, with the lion itself taken from the city's crest and the statues that guard Portsmouth Guildhall. The unicorn, Souline-Joy Jhaidiekar, was created by Emilie-Jane Rivers-Martin and drew its inspiration from the sea unicorn on the historic city crest. The trail stretched from Paulsgrove down to Southsea, with artists like Or Misgav, November Tan, Amy Palmer, Anjana Gadgil and Hannah Walsh among those involved. A few names to keep an eye out for among the crowd: A Pattern of Portsmouth, Admiral Lord Roarington, Cirque du Roar, Commodore Cat, Cubmarine, Cumberland Rose, Cushty, Dazzle the Lion, Diverse City, Foster Families of Portsmouth, Free as a Bird, Fun at the Fair, Heaven's Light, Hertha, HOPE, Leo, Jewel of the Sea, Leonardo da Pompey, Lion of Love Valen, Lionel Leeks, Map of Hundred Portsmouth Stories, Memories, Musical Memories, One Hundred Voices, Pixel King, Pompey: City With a Heart, Protheus, Purrlock Holmes, Roar with Us, Rusty, Salt and Sovereignty, Sea of Stories, Sea-Lion, Solent Sunburst, Southsea Common People, Sunshine Roar, Tales Between Tides, The Blue Guardian, The Butterfly Sky Lifts Us Up, The Fratton Roar, The Love of a Cat, The Mariner, The Town Crier, Together We Are Fierce and Wear with Pride.

The setting adds its own layer. The Mary Rose Museum, inside the dockyard on Main Road, is dedicated to Henry VIII's favourite ship, the 16th-century Tudor warship Mary Rose, which was built in 1510, served for 34 years and sank in 1545 during a French invasion. It lay undiscovered for 437 years before being raised in October 1982, and the museum has displayed the vessel and more than 19,000 authentic artefacts since 1984. General entry to the dockyard is free, with extra charges for attractions like HMS Warrior and the Mary Rose Museum. The whole centenary year carries on past this, with the official brochure titled 100 Things to See and Do in Portsmouth, and the celebrations only wrapping up with the Portsmouth100 finale in January. There is also talk of a future auction of selected sculptures, with the proceeds proposed to support opportunities for young people in Portsmouth.