When it comes to the best August Bank Holiday events in Hopton and the surrounding area, there’s so much to choose from! That’s why we’ve put together this handy guide to the best

If you’re in the mood for a relaxing alternative to the Bank Holiday madness, why not head to Fritton House, where the Mind, Body and Spirit Festival will be held. Featuring a range of therapies as well as some delicious organic foods and inspiring entertainment, it’s a great day out for families with young children.

For dedicated party animals who want to dance the night away, a select few of Great Yarmouth’s best venues have been granted a special 6am licence for the bank holiday weekend. Bar Karma, The Long Bar, Caesars, Atlantis Arena, Mission, and Evolution in King Street will all be open till 6.

Among the rest of the highlights of Great Yarmouth’s Bank Holiday celebrations are the Bank Holiday Family Fun Day at Yarmouth Race Course, featuring seven races and plenty to do for the kids, including donkey rides, face painting and bouncy castle. There is also a beachfront parade planned, as well as lots of special events around the Britannia Theatre.

So if you’ve been wondering what to do with your bank holiday weekend, the answer’s simple: Make sure you get down to Hopton!

Summertime is here, and that can only mean one thing: it’s time for festival season! Thankfully, if you want to enjoy one of the UK’s best festivals, you don’t need to trek across the country. PlayFest takes place just outside Norwich, in the sumptuous grounds of Eccles Hall, and combines music, entertainment, food and drink into one unforgettable weekend. So if you’ve been looking for that perfect festival for 2012, what are you waiting for?

With incredible music, entertainment, food and drink, PlayFest just keeps on getting bigger! The latest additions to the bill are UK Garage legend and Kiss FM stalwart DJ EZ on Saturday, and drum’n’bass supremo Sub Focus on Sunday. This pair of superstar DJs join an already full to bursting bill of acts that includes Ash, The Pigeon Detectives, Reverend and the Makers, Roots Manuva, The Correspondents, Shy FX, Zinc, Toddla T, and Jaymo & Andy George. This means the full line ups for Saturday and Sunday have now been revealed, so it’s nearly time to don the Play-suits, dust off the wellies and get on down to Play Fest!

Kickstarting Saturday night in the POW! Dance Arena is a DJ widely considered to be one of UK Garage’s greatest talents: DJ EZ! Honing his craft on London’s pirate radio stations in the early 90s, DJ EZ rose to prominence in the late 1990’s when he was offered a permanent show on Kiss 100. Over the years, DJ EZ has hosted a variety of different radio shows, mixed a bucket load of Pure Garage compilation albums that have sold over 1.7 million copies, and won a sack full of accolades and awards; including ‘Best Radio Show’, ‘Best Old Skool DJ’ and ‘Best DJ’ at the People’s Choice Awards. Play Fest revellers will be taken on a trip through the archives of UK Garage by one the best tour guides there is!

Sunday in the POW! Dance Arena welcomes even more shining lights of the electronic scene and Play Fest can now reveal that supporting Toddla T at the top of the bill for Sunday night will be Sub Focus. Having been on the scene for nearly a decade, Sub Focus is somewhat of a boy wonder of drum’n’bass. He became one of the leading practitioners within only two years of his emergence whilst his debut single ‘X-Ray’ was awarded Single of the Week on Zane Lowe’s Radio One show. In 2010 he produced the track “Kickstarts” for British singer/rapper Example, which peaked at number three on the U.K. singles chart, and last year he signed a deal with Mercury and has a new album due for release at the end of 2012. With so many strings to his bow and a sack full of heavy tunes to delight the party animals out there, Play Fest are ecstatic to have such a D’n’B heavyweight overseeing the run up to the final hours of this year’s festival!

Other additions to the Sunday POW! Dance Arena include: the musical knowledge and surefire selections of Numbers co-founder Spencer, the contrasting styles of Foamo and Bondax, while Oli D.A.B and Robin will be on hand with their particular breed of house. Rounding off the bill will be hometown hero Joshua Roberts and the techno and house vibes of Josh 2084 and BoaBoa & Fazhands.

Over in the Asylum Stage additions include the mega brass extravaganza of Gypsy Hill and Norwich home-grown reggae talent Jah Head, with Murphys Lore on Sunday and Saturday welcomes Kodeta and Woodland Creatures to the lunatic bill of the Asylum Stage!

A limited number of tickets are still on sale via the Play Fest website: www.playfest.co.uk

LINE UP SO FAR:

MAIN STAGE:

Saturday: Ash, The Pigeon Detectives, Reverend and the Makers, The Big Pink, Little Comets, Tellison, Tripwires, Solko

Sunday: Feeder, Delilah, Scroobius Pip, Natty, Spector, Lonsdale Boys Club, Ria Ritchie, Dumbfoundus, Lee Vann

Big Top:

Saturday: Roots Manuva, Sonic Boom Six, Killamonjambo, Jim Lockey and the Solemn Sun, Alloy Ark, Kamilla Lovett, The B Goodes, Eyes, Under The Influence, Dingus Khan

Sunday: The Correspondents, Federation of the Disco Pimp, Juan Zelada, Boat To Row, Deers, Rory Mcvicar, Model Staggs, The Soft, Underline The Sky, Ill Murray

POW! Presents: Dance Arena

Saturday: Zinc, Shy FX, Melé, DJ EZ, B.Traits, Urban Nerds, DJ Cable, Get Low Cartel, POW! Party Boys

Sunday: Toddla T, Sub Focus, Jaymo & Andy George, Spencer (Numbers), Foamo, Bondax, POW! Party Boys, Joshua Roberts, Oli DAB & Robin, Josh 2084, Boa Boa & Fazhands,

Asylum Stage:

Friday: Double Drop, Cabaret show – Chantelles Wedding

Saturday: Sam & the Womp, The Vagabond, New Town Kings, Swingball, Kodeta, Feral Mouth, Woodland Creatures, The Harvs, Mc chrome + Illinspired, Cielo, Gael, Julia Jenkins, Inlay.

Sunday: Gypsy Hill, Jah Head, Nimmo and the Gauntlets, Murphys Lore, Project Multivitamin, Eliza Shaddad, Josh Doughty, Askala Selasse, Slightly Off Steve, The Proposition, Scott Wright, Andy Kirkham

ADDITIONAL INFO:

TICKETS

Early Bird Full Weekend Camping – £65 – SOLD OUT!

Full Weekend Camping – £80

Student Player ticket – Weekend camping with FREE travel from UEA, Cambridge University & Ipswich College – £80 – LIMITED

Day Tickets – £35

Car Park – £2.50 per vehicle per day, £5.00 weekend

Children – 1 child 12 or under free per supervising adult / £40 full weekend / £20 day ticket

STAGE TIMES:

Main Stage: 12:30pm – 11:30pm

Big Top: 12:00 noon – 10:30pm

Dance Stage & Asylum Stage: 12:00 noon – 01:00am

Tipi Tent: 11am – 01:00am

CAMPING
The campsite opens at 4pm on Friday 1st June 2012, and must be vacated by 2pm Monday 4th June 2012.  The campsite provides toilets and the option to use showers.

The little village of Hopton-on-Sea has more than its fair share of history and incident, with its transformation from fishing port to tourist resort.

With so much history just beneath the surface, it’s no wonder that Hopton has inspired a wealth of books on local history and local interests. We’ve taken a look at the very best Hopton books, so we can bring you a selection of the very best.

Hopton is a beautiful place, but it looks even better from above. The village is prominently featured in Reader’s Digest’s Rd Best of Britain from the Air (Readers Digest) which provides a unique aeral perspective on some of Britain’s most charming beauty spots.

Hopton is home to the World Indoor Bowls Championship, so if you’re looking for a gift for a bowls enthusiast, why not try John Bell’s Bowls: Skills, Techniques, Tactics (Crowood Sports Guides), which gives professional insight and instruction in this demanding and exacting sport.