King’s Lynn Celebrates free love with Rocking Bishop 

2017: On Saturday, June 3 the churches and organisations involved in Celebrate King’s Lynn treated hundreds of local families to a completely free day of fun with live music, including rock n roll from the Bishop of Lynn, inflatables, a mini Olympics and a huge array of cakes.  Jenny Seal reports.

As the organisations and churches set up their stands and activities in the huge green expanse of The Walks in the centre of town for the 10am start of Celebrate King’s Lynn, the wind blew and the grey weather looked set to threaten months of preparation.  But for its second year running, as the event opened the clouds parted and the sun beat down for the rest of the day until the 4pm close.

Alison Hill, Organiser of Celebrate King’s Lynn (pictured right), said: “When I got up this morning it was really raining and I had to say, “No, it’s going to do the same as last year”.  And it did. At 10am the sun came out”.

As the sun shone hundreds of families enjoyed a wide range of completely free activities, cakes and live music. Children with their faces painted jumped around on the bouncy castle, blew giant bubbles, slid down the inflatable slide and queued up for as many free goes as they liked on the bungee run, rodeo bull and gladiator jousting.

Alison said: “People are looking over but they don’t believe it is free. I have to go and tell them it is absolutely free”.

Speaking from the stage during the afternoon, Co-Organiser Olivia O’Neill explained: “We are Celebrate King’s Lynn, where we are celebrating the love of God. God is love and love is free so everything here is completely free.  God commands us to love our neighbour, so that is what we are doing today because we think you are worth it”.

The stage was host to talented local bands including Heaven’s Scent, Street Church, and The Bean Baker Band (pictured above) who played a lively mix of feel good popular music and worship songs. 

Bean Baker said from the stage: “It’s a free event because we love you guys, so we really hope you enjoy yourselves”, before playing ‘Happy’ by Pharrell Williams.

The Bishop of Lynn, Rt Revd Jonathan Meyrick

also took to the stage to perform an impassioned and unexpected version of ‘Wild Thing’ and ‘Turn it Green’ a parody of The Rolling Stones' song ‘Paint it Black’.

Representatives of the town’s churches worked hard throughout the day to entertain the hundreds of attendees.  The King’s Centre challenged families to take part in a 9 event mini Olympics with a sponge relay, sack race, target shot and hockey slalom. St Faith’s Gaywood offered fete games such as Hook a Duck for a prize, and King’s Lynn Baptist Church painted hundreds of glitter tattoos onto the arms of children.  

The King’s Glory Church invited young visitors to make their own bracelet while King’s Lynn Church of the Nazarene had a Coin Throw and Putting game and South Wootton Methodist Chapel offered a taste of their Messy Church with craft activities.

Members of the Christian Motorcycle Association were out in force with an impressive line-up of bikes, as was Sally Beadle, also known as the clown Crazy Bananas, who twisted hundreds of balloons into animal shapes as a free gift and hosted a circus skills area. The Hair and Beauty Department at the College of West Anglia donated their time to give free manicures and hand and arm massages while King’s Lynn Foodbank invited people to participate in a Tin Can Alley game.

Crowds gathered and took part in demonstrations of ‘Open the Book’ Bible story presentations and Counties UK were present with their interactive mobile resource, the Key to Life Experience.
     
The crowds were fuelled by free drinks and cakes, served by the Refreshments Team, and prayer and healing was offered across the venue including from Norfolk Healing Rooms.

As hundreds of children and parents came together to enjoy free fun-filled activities on a sunny day in green surroundings to the backdrop of well played, lively worship music, a taste of God’s love was made widely and abundantly accessible in King's Lynn.