Christian community groups joined forces to deliver a one-day festival to celebrate the church in action across Norwich and Norfolk.

Norwich Evening News: John Betts, director of Celebrate Photo: ArchantJohn Betts, director of Celebrate Photo: Archant (Image: Archant)

Celebrate, held by Celebrate Norwich and Norfolk, took place on Saturday.

The festival is in its ninth year and is designed to get the people of the county to celebrate the work of Christians and churches across the Norfolk community.

There was a full day of activities planned for the event, which took place at The Forum in the centre of Norwich.

As the sun belted down, hundreds of visitors flocked to the festival to see the work of the Christian community in action.

Norwich Evening News: The Christian Aid stall outside the Forum Photo: ArchantThe Christian Aid stall outside the Forum Photo: Archant (Image: Archant)

John Betts, director of Celebrate, said: 'It's been a really nice day full of lots of activities and different organisations coming together. This is now the ninth year we've held the festival and it's great to showcase the work we do in the community.

'Our aim, as we celebrate the work of the Christian community across Norwich and Norfolk, is to showcase a few of the many activities which go on 24-7 serving at all levels of our society.'

The event started at 10am with an official civic opening, followed by events and activities throughout the rest of the day including an exhibition, activities for young people, music and dancing and drama from local groups.

There was an interactive presentation on the life of Jesus, called Key to Life? And Roy Crowne, director of HOPE, held a Christian leadership masterclass.

The event also allowed visitors to discover more about a range of organisations including the Norwich Quakers, Christian Aid, Community Action Norwich, Hebron Trust, Norfolk Postal Bible School and more.

The Norwich Quakers, with the support of the Norfolk-based Historic Advertising Trust, showed visitors a range of historic Quaker business advertisements on their stand at the one day festival.

Duane Elkins, from Community Action Norwich, said: 'We're all about trying to create community again. I love being a part of Celebrate because most of the time people don't know about us and some people will join us after the event.'

For more information about the Celebrate event and other events held by Celebrate Norwich and Norfolk, visit www.celebratenorfolk.co.uk