Cromer and Sheringham Crab & Lobster Festival 18-20 May 2012
Cromer and Sheringham Crab & Lobster Festival 2012
2012 Festival Launched – Nip along to North Norfolk
This May Cromer and Sheringham will host the third Crab & Lobster Festival – a feast of fun, food, art, music, heritage and entertainment – and there are more opportunities than ever to get involved.
A full and varied programme of over 40 events will take place across the Festival weekend. On Thursday 26 January 2012 an evening of wacky windbreaks, seaside-styled postcard cutouts and splendid seafood launched the 2012 Festival.
The Crab & Lobster Festival will kick off the coming holiday season with an opening concert on Cromer Pier on Friday 18 May hosted by Olly Day.
The Festival weekend continues in Cromer on Saturday 19 May and in Sheringham on Sunday 20th with a programme which promises a feast of superb seafood, scintillating street entertainment, barmy beach Olympics, music, comedy, film, seafood competitions, the World Pier Crabbing Championships and the return of the Festival’s art trail.
This week the Festival launched a range of ways in which local businesses, schools, community groups and individuals can get involved with this year’s celebrations. Central to this is the Wacky Windbreak Trail which will run in the same spirit as the decorated deckchairs in 2011. For the sum of £60 sponsors will be supplied with a versatile cotton windbreak to decorate and display as part of the Festival’s Art Trail which will run from Easter until July 2012. At the end of the trail all the windbreaks will go into the Grand Windbreak Auction at the end of July to continue the Festival’s tradition for raising money for local charities.
Over the past two years the Festival’s auctions have raised over £16,500 for local charities and this week the Festival proudly handed over three cheques, each for £2,500, to RNLI Cromer, RNLI Sheringham and the Fishermen’s Mission from the money raised at last year’s Deckchair Auction. This year the Festival has chosen the Fishermen’s Mission as their main charity and have also set up a grant scheme for charities in Cromer and Sheringham to apply to.
Alongside the windbreak trail the Festival is encouraging artists, designers and creatives of all ages and abilities to enter their first Poster Design Competition where one lucky winner will see their design turned into 2012s official Festival poster.
The Festival would like to see as many people as possible getting involved. Secretary Kate Royall said “We are delighted to start the year on such a positive note. We hope the wacky windbreak trail will be as successful as the deckchairs, it’s a great way for visitors to explore the area and see what North Norfolk has to offer.” She added “we are also running the Festival’s first Poster Design Competition where people can design the Festival’s official poster for 2012, entries are already flooding in and we have extended the deadline until February 29th”.
With over 40 events and an expanded street theatre programme this year’s festival offers an abundance of fun for all the family across the weekend.
Festival chairman Tony Shipp said “In 2011 the Festival achieved enormous successes. Over 20,000 people enjoyed the Festival weekend, thousands followed the deckchair trail and hundreds of children entered the captain crustacean competition – it is hoped this year’s Festival, with an expanded programme of free events will achieve the same success and bring more and more people to this fabulous area”.
For more information on the Wacky Windbreaks, Poster Design Competition, volunteering with the Festival and many other opportunities please see the website www.crabandlobsterfestival.co.uk or call 07775 337201.
