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Art trail to feature 60 decorated treasure chests

Edd Smith/BBC Festival president Hilary Cox inside an empty room at The Cliftonville Hotel in Cromer. She has short grey hair, dark glasses and is wearing a red jumper.Edd Smith/BBC
Hilary Cox helped to establish the crab festival in 2010

A popular seaside festival has released details of its art trail which will see 60 decorated treasure chests dotted around a town.

Thousands of people are expected at the Cromer Crab and Lobster Festival on the Norfolk coast over the weekend of 16-18 May.

Every year, since it launched in 2010, an item synonymous with the seaside has been the theme of its art trail, which raises money for local charities.

The trail will run from Easter until early August.

Cromer Crab and Lobster Festival An wooden treasure chest in a workshop.Cromer Crab and Lobster Festival
The treasure chests will be sponsored by local businesses and placed in shop windows

"Some people will cover the chests with knitting, some people will cover it with shells, some people will cover it with gold coins or crabs," said Hilary Cox, president of the event.

"This is what's so special about it - it shows different ideas, inventions and creations."

The treasure chests, which are sponsored by local businesses and put in shop windows in Cromer and Sheringham, will be auctioned off in late August.

Money raised from last year's festival was donated to organisations such as North Norfolk Surf Lifesaving Club, Cromer Art Space and Sheringham Sing Your Heart Out.

Previous art items have included deckchairs, windbreaks and lobsters.

This year's wooden treasure chests are being made by About With Friends – a service which offers adults with disabilities the chance to learn in working environments.

Andreas Yiasimi Crowds of people on Cromer seafrontAndreas Yiasimi
Thousands of people attend the festival each year
Andreas Yiasimi A woman and boy crabbing on Cromer Pier. The woman is wearing a red coat and blue cap, and is holding a pink crabbing line, while the boys has hair across his face and is looking over the edge of the pierAndreas Yiasimi
A crabbing competition was also held as part of last year's event

Ms Cox, who has been a president of the festival since it first launched, said it was initially established to bring the coastal towns of Cromer and Sheringham closer together and celebrate the area's crab and lobster fishing industries.

However, over the years, the event has become more Cromer focused.

"There's not so much rivalry now which is a good thing," Ms Cox laughed.

The main festival will be held on Evington Lawns, and feature stalls, cookery demonstrations and live music.

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