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Primary Times Norfolk Reader Star Award Winners 2018
The very best of what Norfolk has to offer local families can now be revealed in this year’s Primary Times Reader Star Awards results.
The results, which can now be revealed, give the winners’ a well-deserved round of applause…
And this year’s winners are…
This year, the highly desired Family Attraction award was split into two categories to accommodate the places where people like to spend their time for a full day out and for a half day out.
Winning the Family Attraction Award (for a Full Day Out), was Roarr! Dinosaur Adventure. This much-loved attraction delivers high standards and has a real interest in diversification by adding variety with new events year-on-year. This added interest, along with its existing fun indoor and outdoor play areas, clearly hit the mark with local families who visit the park regularly. The enormously popular BeWILDerwood was runner-up in this category.
The discounted online tickets and multi-saver offer make a visit to Roarr! Dinosaur Adventure fantastic value, enabling it to pick up the top prize in a new category this year: the ‘Best Value for Money Attraction’. High Lodge in Thetford was the runner-up in this group.
A new award this year was that of the best Family Attraction for a half day out. This category was created to include attractions that people may visit, perhaps, for a few hours but on a frequent basis, or attractions that offer timed schedules. Wroxham Barns was chosen as the winning attraction in this category. This beautiful attraction is a big hit with Primary Times’ readers and its junior farm, fairground fun, variety of events and changing timetable of activities tempts local families to return again and again. The runner-up in this category was Pensthorpe Natural Park, the stunning conservation park near Fakenham.
The importance and value of outdoor play and its positive effects on children makes the Outdoor Play category a particularly significant one. The magical treehouses, variety of adventure play and intriguing characters enabled Bewilderwood to win this category, followed by Roarr! Dinosaur Adventure. As for Indoor Play Centres, these are considered a crucial part of British family life as the weather is often so unsettled, so the merit of winning the Indoor Play award is seen as a highly valued prize. Roarr! Dinosaur Adventure won the Indoor Play Centre award, with Monsters Ltd coming a close second.
The entertaining events and family orientated activities at the Royal Norfolk Show, enabled it to be chosen as the favourite Local Fair, Show or Festival for 2018. The week-long Cromer Carnival, which included a display by the Red Arrows, was runner-up in this category.
The highly prized category of Party Venue and Entertainer is always fiercely contested as the quality of party entertainment in the area is first class. James D’s Party Time acquired the highest number of votes, largely because of its high entertainment value, whilst the competitively priced balloon art at Twist ‘n’ Shape by the Sea tipped it to second spot.
A new award introducing a Free Local Family Event was won by GoGoHares 2018, for its sculpture trail in Norwich. The second highest number of votes in this category went to the Lord Mayor’s Procession in Norwich.
The blue-ribbon category, that of Overall Winner, asked readers to think about their favourite attraction or entertainer which offered them the best overall experience. Collectively, readers chose Roarr! Dinosaur Adventure as their Overall Winner for 2018, gaining 35% of the overall votes. James D’s Party Time scooped the runner’s-up prize in this prestigious category.
Linda Edwards, Publishing Editor at Primary Times Norfolk said: “We are so grateful to our readers for their valued contribution to our Reader Star Awards. The results are incredibly insightful which allows us to take a glimpse into the minds of local people, discovering what the children enjoy most. We would like to applaud all the individual winners of each category and congratulate them on their success".
"In particular, we would like to commend Roarr! Dinosaur Adventure on winning the particularly significant Overall Winner award. In addition, winning a number of awards across several categories is an example of consistent practice and good management. We look forward to seeing what the next twelve months will bring and how the local attractions and venues will evolve and develop.”
Primary Times Norfolk Reader Star Award Winners 2018
Family Attraction (Full Day Out)
• Winner: Roarr! Dinosaur Adventure
• Runner up: BeWilderwood
Family Attraction (Half Day Out)
• Winner: Wroxham Barns
• Runner up: Pensthorpe Natural Park
Indoor Play / Activity Centre
• Winner: Roarr! Dinosaur Adventure
• Runner up: Monsters Ltd
Free Local Family Event
• Winner: GoGoHares 2018, Norwich
• Runner up: Lord Mayor’s Procession, Norwich
Outdoor Play Centre
• Winner: Bewilderwood
• Runner up: Roarr! Dinosaur Adventure
Local Fair, Show or Festival
• Winner: Royal Norfolk Show
• Runner up: Cromer Carnival
Party Venue / Entertainer.png)
• Winner: James D’s Party Time
• Runner up: Twist ‘n’ Shape by the Sea
Best Value for Money Attraction
• Winner: Roarr! Dinosaur Adventure
• Runner up: High Lodge, Thetford
Overall Winner
• Winner: Roarr! Dinosaur Adventure (35% Votes)
• Runner up: James D’s Party Time