Lowestoft’s award winning Heritage Open Days festival is set to return next month.

Organisers are promising a true celebration of the town focusing on the important role it has, and continues to play, in feeding the nation.

More than 120 free to enjoy events are set to take place including a special herring and ale festival at the Oddfellows Green, a local produce fayre and a look back at some of the famous food brands the town has produced.

Special guided walks, talks and film screenings will also feature in the festival which opens on September 10 and runs until September 19.

Forming part of a national series of events, the Lowestoft festival is produced by a volunteer team based within the town and with this year’s theme being ‘Edible England’, the town’s history of fishing and food production has enabled them to devise a host of activities including exhibitions and a recreation of one of the prestigious Prunier Herring Trophy winners’ banquets.

Eastern Daily Press: Food production at the former Lowestoft CWS Factory.Food production at the former Lowestoft CWS Factory. (Image: Co-operative Heritage Trust)

Festival chairman Diana Moore said: “We’ve been completely overwhelmed by the generosity of the local community this year.

"The whole town seems ready to celebrate Lowestoft’s unique legacy and I’m constantly amazed at the sheer range and depth of heritage we have.

"As a Lowestoft girl, it makes me very proud.”

The festival also features a special celebration with the 100th anniversary of fishing smack Excelsior marked, while one of the town’s oldest businesses, Bushell’s Bakery will be recreating some local recipes from times gone by.

The archives of many of the town’s former employers including Maconochie Brothers, the Co-operative Wholesale Society, Morton’s and Beecham’s have provided rare film footage, photographs and advertising which will be displayed in a special exhibition.

Historian Bob Collis added: "For the past three years Lowestoft has had more registered events than anywhere else in Suffolk, and repeatedly made the national top 10.

"Come next month we are going to see a sleeping giant coming back to life.

"This event has gone from small beginnings in 2017 to a major event in the local tourism calendar."

Listings are available via www.heritageopendays.org.uk while the town’s Tourist Information Office at the railway station will host the festival information hub.