THE HUNT IS ON TO FIND THE BONNIEST BONNET IN BRUM The search is on to find Birmingham’s bonniest Easter bonnet! An Egg-citing competition at the city’s Bull Ring Markets will give kids the chance to show off homemade hats and win some fantastic prizes. On Saturday 22 March, the Markets will be hosting an Easter Family Fun Day Egg-stravaganza. Entertainment begins at 11am and will include live music, a giant bunny and Little Bo Peep, balloon modellers and face painters. The highlight of the day will be an Easter Bonnet Parade at 12noon, when judges decide on Birmingham’s best decorated bonnet. Prizes include family tickets to Drayton Manor Theme Park and the National Sea Life Centre Birmingham, plus a pair of tickets to see Dr Dolittle at the Birmingham Hippodrome and Markets shopping vouchers. All entrants will receive a free chocolate Easter egg. The parade is open to any child up to 13 years old, with entrants being split into three age groups. Anyone wishing to take part should pick up an entry form the Market Customer Service Centre in Edgbaston Street. Entrants will also be accepted on the day until 11am. Apart from the obvious Easter themes, traders at Bull Ring Markets want participants to let their imagination go wild and perhaps think about decorating their bonnet with a Market theme. Head of Markets, Matt Kelly, said: “This is the ninth year we have held the Easter Bonnet Parade and each year it just gets bigger and bigger – it’s a great reminder that spring has sprung!” The parade will begin at 12noon on Edgbaston Street but entrants are asked to arrive 30 minutes early. All under 13s must be accompanied by an adult. Shoppers at the Markets can also get an insight of the religious side of Easter during the morning of March 22. St Martin’s Church, at the Bull Ring, will be putting on two short outdoor Easter plays, focusing on Jesus’ trial before Pilot and the Crucifixion. The plays at 11am and 11.30am will move along Edgbaston Street, in the style of medieval mystery plays. The Bull Ring Markets opening hours are: |