As the county gears up for its first-ever Suffolk day, a number of exciting events are planned tomorrow to mark the occasion in the west of the county.
From bell ringing displays to live entertainment, businesses, community groups and charities have thrown themselves behind the launch of the county’s very own celebration.
The Museum of East Anglian Life, in Stowmarket, will have a mini food market in the barn from 12.30pm-4pm, with produce from local suppliers as well as entertainment from the East Anglian Traditional Music Trust and an ensemble of Morris Dancers throughout the afternoon.
The museum will be playing host to BBC Suffolk’s Lesley Dolphin show which will broadcast live from the grounds between 1pm and 4pm.
Enterprise agency MENTA will be out and about delivering lunch to small businesses, recognizing the hard work of many entrepreneurs across Suffolk.
MENTA has teamed up with NatWest Bank to deliver fifty lunches to various businesses including a factory, a workshop and an office.
Nick Pandolfi, of MENTA, said: “It will be great to say thank you and celebrate businesses – both long established and more recently founded - and find out from the staff and the owners why it’s so great, working and living in Suffolk.”
The Suffolk Family Carers bus and team will be parking up on the Angel Hill in Bury St Edmunds to proudly support Suffolk Day.
The organisation, which regularly supports more than 5,000 carers across Suffolk, saw a 29% increase in new referrals last year.
Young carers and health teams will be on the bus to listen and respond to family needs and the team from Suffolk West Citizens Advice will also be attending to provide energy saving advice.
Kirsten Alderson, chief executive of Suffolk Family Carers, said: “We are all likely to become a carer or know a family carer at some point during our lives.
“We therefore want to build caring communities across this great county.
“So Suffolk Day is a really important reason to be proud of the great place we live in and put people at the heart of our county.
“By just asking a carer how they are and listening to them makes such a difference as it usually the ‘cared for’ that society focus on.”
A touring group from the Theatre Royal in Bury St Edmunds will celebrate Suffolk with There and Back Again – An Odyssey at Marina Theatre, Lowestoft , from 1.30pm to 4.30pm, which is part of Once Upon a Festival , a collaboration between five partner venues across the region.
The Suffolk Owl Sanctuary, at Stonham Barns in Stonham Aspal, will be offering half price entry from Suffolk Day until Sunday, June 25, with a chance to see the county’s owls and birds of prey up close.
A mini-market will be held outside Sudbury Town Hall from 10am-3pm, with several local businesses showcasing their produce, along with artists displaying their work.
A group of children from Woodhall Primary School, in Sudbury, will also perform at the event and staff from the tourist information centre will be on hand to promote the town.
The Heritage Centre at Long Melford will be open from 10am-4pm, displaying a vast collection of old photographs from the 1880s to the 1970s.
Refreshments will be provided by the Women’s Institute (WI) who will be attending, along with the Community Association, Good Neighbours’ and the Business Association.
Bells will be rung across 16 locations in the county to celebrate the inaugural Suffolk Day.
Bell ringing has a particular connection to Suffolk with more than 200 towers with four or more bells.
Change ringing, the type practised in England, was born in East Anglia and due to the wealth of the region at the time Suffolk has a large number of Medieval bells that still ring out.
The locations and times for bell ringing on Suffolk Day are as follows: Fressingfield 7:30-9pm, Bardwell 7:30-9pm, Exning 7:30-9pm, Eye 5-6:30pm, Gislingham 7:30-9pm, East Bergholt 8-9pm, Otley 6:30-9pm, Pettistree 7:30-9pm, Sproughton 7:30-9pm, Edwardstone 7:30-9pm, Long Melford 7:30-9pm, Elmsett 7:30-9pm, Bury St Edmunds (Norman Tower) 7:30-8:30pm, Horringer, Grundisburgh and Debenham.
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