Take a Day Out in North Norfolk - starting at Holkham Hall

Copyright NNDC

North Norfolk's annual showcase for the tourism industry, the Day Out in North Norfolk travel trade exhibition, will be held at Holkham Hall on 15 and 16 March.

The two-day event had been due to be held at Holkham Hall last spring, but the foot and mouth outbreak in other parts of Britain forced its cancellation. The Earl and Countess of Leicester kindly invited the event's organisers, North Norfolk District Council, back to use their magnificent Palladian home as the exhibition venue in 2002.

So far, some 70 stands have been booked by North Norfolk businesses wanting to show off their tourist attractions and accommodation to holiday organisers from around the country. Exhibitors will include top-quality stalwarts of the local tourism industry like Pensthorpe Waterfowl Park, the Muckleburgh Collection and Blakeney Point Sailing School, famed Norfolk attractions and venues such as Sandringham, the Norfolk Showground and Delia Smith's City Brasserie restaurant, and newcomers like the RSPB and Cley Spy (which offers birdwatchers the largest selection of binoculars and telescopes in East Anglia).

The exhibition's formal welcome and opening by the Earl of Leicester and NNDC Chairman Vera Woodcock at 11am on Friday, 15 March, will be followed by the launch of the 25th Anniversary Seaside Special variety show and the presentation of the 2001 North Norfolk Tourism Awards to the District's finest tourism businesses.

Entry into the exhibition is by invitation only on the first day. Invitations have been sent to group travel organisers, tour companies, and other travel trade decision-makers across the UK.

On the Saturday, the exhibition is open to the public free of charge and there will be a programme of entertainment running all day. The Bygones Museum at Holkham Hall will also be open for free, and admittance to the Hall itself will be £2.50 (half price) for adults and free to children under 16.

The Day Out in North Norfolk exhibition, which will be held in one large, heated marquee adjacent to Holkham Hall, will be open from 10am to 4pm both days.

If members of the media would like to attend on either day, please contact Di Rolph, Tourism Promotions Officer, on (01263) 516009.

Picture shows:
Viscount Coke, heir to the Holkham Estate, and Councillor Hilary Nelson, NNDC's Portfolio Member with responsibility for tourism, at Holkham Hall.

NOTES FOR EDITOR

• The launch of the Seaside Special, which opens at the Pavilion Theatre in Cromer on 22 June, will include an introduction to stars of the show, including comedian Tucker and dancer Maurice Kachuk, at 11.15am on 15 March. This year's Seaside Special line-up also includes Gary Lovini, Chris Harley, Vicki Carr and, of course, the Robert Marlowe Dancers. The Pavilion Theatre box office is now open for telephone bookings on (01263) 512495, and will open fully on 22 March.

• The North Norfolk Tourism Awards will be presented on 15 March at11.35am by Councillor Hilary Nelson, Portfolio Member for Community Services, and will be followed by three special awards to the longest-serving members of the Where to Go in North Norfolk Group: Alby Crafts, the North Norfolk Railway, and Sutton Windmill. The Group is celebrating its 25th season of promoting some of the best of North Norfolk's attractions.

• For more information about Holkham Hall and the Holkham Estate, the media should call Paula Minchin on (01328) 710806.

• For details of last-minute stand availability, contact Di Rolph, Tourism Promotions Officer, on (01263) 516009.