Visit Great Yarmouth Festival of Bowls raises hundreds of pounds for charity

The UK's biggest outdoor bowls festival, the Visit Great Yarmouth Festival of Bowls is organised by Great Yarmouth Borough Council and the Festival of Bowls Committee and is sponsored by Visit Great Yarmouth. A charity raffle took place throughout the competition, which ran from August 25 to September 21, and raised £635.52.

A cheque for the money raised has now been presented to The Well foodbank in Gorleston by members of the bowls committee.

The Well provides free breakfasts every Thursday morning, showers for people and a pantry option where people can sign up to regularly collect tinned and frozen items, store cupboard staples and toiletries.

Centre 81 - which provides a fully accessible door-to-door Community Transport Service for people who cannot access ordinary public transport - also raised £450.30 at the tournament with a tombola.

This year, the festival included 12 tournaments for men's singles, pairs, triples and fours, ladies' singles, pairs and triples, under 21s open singles, mixed pairs and triples, over 60s open singles and pairs.

Ruth Cockrill, Great Yarmouth Borough Council's marketing and events officer, said: ''The festival was a huge success again, with keen competition across all the events.

''We'd like to thank everyone who contributed to the charity fundraising at the festival. The money raised has enabled these generous donations to help people in the community.''

Applications are expected to open soon for the 2025 festival.

Businesses who would like to sponsor and support the long-standing Great Yarmouth festival are urged to contact marketing@great-yarmouth.gov.uk to discuss opportunities.