A short review of  the two days, by Mike Leigh

This event was the brainchild of Joan Kibble, who proposed a Flower Festival plus a Jazz evening and one or two extra events to draw people in.  In June 07 she asked me to engage the Brandeston Pickles Jazz Band  for a session in the Church, where we had played twice before with reasonable success.

She drew together a small group of her friends from the village into an informal committee and they decided to get together a sort of Summer Fete, with the usual stalls etc.  Joan had in mind a Flower Festival in the Church with a “Wedding Anniversaries” theme and had the great idea of trying to get together a Parade of Bridesmaids and Flower Girls with a commentary.   The many young members of this group were drawn from nearby schools, playgroups etc as Blo Norton itself is only a very small village.  Variety – and glamour - was added with some older girls.  The present residents of Blo Norton Hall then offered to open their garden on one of the afternoons and the plan was just about complete.

Following months of meetings and a few days’ hard work, Saturday 21st found the event opening in a steady, heavy drizzle, with stallholders and helpers outnumbering punters until lunch time.  In the afternoon, the weather improved and the brilliance of the idea of the ‘Bridesmaids Parade’ was revealed with the arrival of the participants, parents and grandparents, plus a photographer from the Diss Express.

Read some more about this event - Click Here