Norwich Dragon Festival

11 February 2011, 06:10 | Updated: 21 February 2011, 14:49

After starting in 2009, thousands are expected to go to this year's Norwich Dragon Festival - which features more than 60 events across the city.

The festival will run from Saturday 12th to Sunday 27th February 2011 (the second week being half-term) and there will be two weeks of dragon-related activities and events taking place at more than 30 Norwich venues, linked to the symbol of the dragon and celebrating its role in the heritage and culture of Norwich.

The Festival has lots of talks and exhibitions with activities like arts and crafts, puppet shows, story-telling, films and dance performances, artwork and displays created by community groups and local artists. Venues include Norwich Castle, Dragon Hall, Norwich Playhouse, Jarrolds, Norwich Puppet Theatre, both Cathedrals, the Assembly House and the University of East Anglia.

The Festival is being coordinated by Norwich Heritage Economic and Regeneration Trust, but is also supported by 30 local organisations and the support of Norwich City Council.

Christina Lister, communications manager at Norwich Heritage Economic and Regeneration Trust , said: "We are so excited to be bringing back the Festival by popular demand. The events programme has doubled in size since 2009 thanks to the creativity, passion and hard work of countless staff and volunteers and the partnership and support of many organisations putting on events. Almost 50 events are free of charge and all are guaranteed to brighten up the cold and dark winter days. With such a varied events programme we think there is something for everyone and now is a great time to start planning your Festival itinerary!"

Sally Goldsmith, marketing manager from the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts which is putting on a week of events as part of the Festival, said: "We are delighted to be part of the Dragon Festival, a fantastic celebration which brings together the best of Norwich’s venues for two weeks of exciting events for the local community. We have two wonderful ‘dragon beasts’ in our permanent collection at the Sainsbury Centre and we will be making them the focus of our half-term events for families. From Tuesday to Sunday families will be able to call in and make a dragon and explore the gallery with artist-designed activity booklet packed with trails, fun facts and art challenges. It’s all free and promises to be lots of fun, so we hope people will come along!"

Simon Wake, assistant marketing manager at Chapelfield, which is screening free films and running pavement art and carnival costume workshops, said: "We’re proud to be part of this citywide event, celebrating Norwich’s history, creativity and sense of fun. The free events at Chapelfield are designed to entertain families during the February half-term holiday whilst they enjoy city’s fantastic mix of shopping and historic landmarks."