A campaign group fighting to raise funds to save their last village pub will hold a Halloween community event for the cause.
The Save the Blue Bell group in Stoke Ferry is hosting a Jack O’Lantern lightshow and village quiz trail to raise support for their campaign to save The Blue Bell Inn, after it closed in March 2018 due to poor trading.
Campaigners are hoping to raise enough money to make a bid for the pub and are pressing ahead with plans despite the owner submitting a second application to West Norfolk Council to turn it into housing.
The group has said villagers have expressed “overwhelming support” to keep it open as a community-run facility and are hoping the Halloween event will raise funds but also enable children to “still experience the excitement of Halloween.”
Sandra McNeill, Save the Blue Bell member, said: “Our local community has expressed its overwhelming support for the Blue Bell to reopen as more than a pub.
“These past few months of lockdown and social restrictions have been exceptionally difficult for us all, but they have also shone a light on the incredible community spirit which exists in Stoke Ferry and our local villages.”
A Jack O’Lantern Village Lightshow will take place at 7pm on Saturday, October 31 - launched by the ringing of bells at All Saints Church to signal the lighting of lanterns across the village and a family quiz trail is planned for the October half-term week.
Campaigners are encouraging Stoke Ferry residents and households in the surrounding villages to come together to produce an enchanting lightshow and pumpkin carve.
The group member added: “It is a wonderful way to shine a thousand lights and give our local children a safe but special Halloween.”
Pupils at All Saints School in Stoke Ferry will receive a quiz with clues to get them “safely out and about” around the village during half-term week.
Families or carers with children are being invited to register to receive a treat from the group, which will be delivered to people’s doorstep on Halloween.
Those in Stoke Ferry, Wretton, Boughton, Whittington or Wereham can email info@bluebellstokeferry.org or visit the Blue Bell’s Twitter or Facebook pages with addresses and the number of children in your household.
Donations to support the event and the campaign can be made through donation boxes at the Stoke Ferry Corner Shop and Bonnetts Hardware.
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