ATTLEBOROUGH
Teddy Bear Festival Ready Teddy... Almost go! Preparations for the 13th annual Teddy Bear Festival are well under way in the village of Great Ellingham. To date, the festival has raised over £50,000 for charities such as this year’s nominated charity ‘EACH’, a local Children’s Hospice suppor ting terminally ill children and their families. The festival also suppor ts many local groups and organisations. For those who haven’t yet witnessed the spectacle, the Teddy Bear Festival is a chance for the villagers to get their creative hats on and make and display life-size straw bears with inventive designs and characters. These are dotted around the picturesque village for a 2 week period starting from Saturday 2nd July. Teddy Trail maps will be on sale throughout the village and visitors can 20 | May 2016
vote for their favourite bear which will win a prize for “People’s Choice Award”. The festival is run by a small team of local volunteers who work extremely hard to host this successful celebration. The sponsorship of local businesses has played a major role in the continuation of the festival. This year’s contributions have vastly exceeded expectations and have enabled the team to plan the most ambitious event to date. This will be a day of entertainment, live music, fun activities and games for adults and children alike and has been aptly named “Tedfest”. It will be held at the Great Ellingham Recreation Centre on Saturday 16th July from 11am to 5pm. As well as the superb sponsorship already received, a local restaurant
“The Rose of India” have very kindly offered to host a Charity Night on Wednesday 8th June whereby all takings are offered in support of the festival. Due to successful fundraising efforts, the team are able to host a number of events over the 2 week period including a day of Garage Sales on Saturday 2nd July, an Art Exhibition from 8th to 10th July with a Preview Evening on Thursday 7th July, a Craft Day on 9th July, a Golden Oldies Music Night also on 9th July and an Evening of Mediumship on Wednesday 13th July. Some of the events listed are by advance booking only. For more information on this and all other details regarding the festival, please visit the NEW website at www.teddyfestival. org.uk or keep up to date with all the latest teddy gossip on our Facebook and Twitter pages. Alternatively, you can call the current Chairperson, Heidi Halsall on 07503 464803. www.DispatchMagazine.co.uk