Diocese marquee buzzes with fun at Royal Norfolk Show 

The Diocese of Norwich marquee at this year’s Royal Norfolk Show was buzzing with fun and excitement, with a huge range of activities including Lego church building, a climbing wall, free hand massages and dancing dogs.

On June 27-28 at the Royal Norfolk Show the Church of England (Diocese of Norwich) hosted a large marquee with a wide range of Christian exhibitors and activities. 

From dancing dogs to free hand massages, bell-ringing dinosaurs to swimming with dolphins in a kayak through the Horstead Centre virtual reality experience – there was something for everyone to enjoy.

Both adults and children got stuck into constructing a big church building from Lego and the marquee’s large café area was full of people taking a moment to stop and relax, catch up with friends and listen to fantastic live performances from schools and academies.

The large soft play area for toddlers was also a huge hit with parents and carers – allowing everyone some time to relax and get out of the sun.

An innovative toolkit for children and teachers called ‘Inspired Classrooms’ was also launched by the Bishop of Norwich, the Rt Rev Graham James. The toolkit shows how church buildings can be used as places of creative learning across the curriculum.

Partner organisations such as the Church Urban Fund (through Imagine Norfolk Together) were there too discussing poverty and homelessness and the Church Army (through the new Centres of Mission Team) sharing and talking about faith.

Speaking about the vision, Gordon Darley, Director of Marketing and Communications for the Diocese of Norwich, said: “We love coming to the Show as it is an amazing opportunity to highlight what God is doing across Norfolk and Waveney through the local church as well as promoting Christians working together through many different charities.  We had another wonderful year and we hope that everyone who came and saw us got just a taste of the love God has for them.”

Other local Christian charities and organisations exhibited with the Diocese to showcase the work they do, including Scripture Union, Christian Aid, Norfolk Community Chaplaincy, Norfolk YMCA, Norwich Cathedral, Norfolk Postal Bible School, Mothers’ Union, PlayVan, Horstead Centre and Spire Property Consultants.