The 330th anniversary of the Great Fire of Bungay will provide the theme for this year’s summer festival.

Plans for the 2018 Bungay Festival got under way at a meeting at the Fisher Theatre last Thursday – and the hope is it will be a blazing success.

The milestone has provided the theme of fire for the two-week event in July, and organisations planning events will be encouraged to involve the theme if they can.

Bungay in Bloom has already decided that the theme for its floral displays in the town will feature red, yellow and orange, to represent flames, and the committee is planning bunting in the same colours.

The festival will run from July 7 to 22, and ideas discussed included an exhibition on the Great Fire of Bungay at the Fisher Theatre and a fire-themed event at the castle, using the town’s beacon. The closing ceremony on the final Sunday could be moved to the evening to also incorporate the lighting of the beacon.

Events already pencilled in include a concert organised by the Town Reeve at St Mary’s Church on July 21, the Mozart Orchestra concert in aid of the NSPCC at the same venue on July 14, the Kids’ Fun Day at the Castle Meadow on July 7, and the antique street market on July 22.

Those wanting to stage events during the festival can obtain a form from Didy Ward – and anyone who would like to join the festival committee is also asked to contact her by emailing didyw@aol.com.

Simon Thompson has stood down as festival chairman, and from the committee, as he is moving to Norwich, and Ms Ward was elected in his place. She will also fill the role of programme secretary, and Tony Dawes is treasurer and donations officer.

The next meeting will be held on Thursday, February 22, at 7pm at the Fisher Theatre, where those wanting to stage events will be welcome.

The Bungay Festival has now been running for 30 years and started out as a four-day event in 1988 to commemorate the Great Fire, which broke out on March 1, 1688, and destroyed much of the town making many people homeless.