THOUSANDS of people descended on the east coast at the weekend as two major events were hailed as a success in Lowestoft and Corton.On Saturday , Lowestoft town centre was transformed as a colourful pageant brought 700,000 years of local history to life.

THOUSANDS of people descended on the east coast at the weekend as two major events were hailed as a success in Lowestoft and Corton.

On Saturday , Lowestoft town centre was transformed as a colourful pageant brought 700,000 years of local history to life.

The Lowestoft: A Living History saw various performances, displays, songs, shows, re-enactments, parades and plenty of colour in the town - and such was the success surrounding the inaugural day that hopes are high it will become a permanent fixture on the calendar.

Turning back the clock in Lowestoft, the fun day saw retailers, schools, historical organisations, drama groups and the Marina Theatre join forces with the Lowestoft Town Management Partnership to present a series of events that ran from the Triangle to Station Square.

Lowestoft town centre manager Emma Jones said: 'It was brilliant. I'm over the moon with how it all turned out - it was one of the biggest events to work on but with the efforts of the steering group it meant that everything fell into place on the day. There were so many positive comments around the town, with some saying it was the best thing to be held in Lowestoft for a long time.'

Backed by an Awards for All lottery grant, the day was organised by LTMP - the retail arm of the Lowestoft and Waveney Chamber of Commerce - with support from Back to the Future Youth Project, Black Knight Historical and local historians Ivan Bunn, Sophie Jackson and Andy Jennings.

With soldiers, Oliver Cromwell, a dinosaur and a hovercraft….there was something for everyone.

And Mike Richford, the Lowestoft Lifeboat press officer said: 'The RNLI felt it was very important to bring a hovercraft to the Living History Day to show how a local invention is used by the RNLI today to save lives.'

There was also a lifeboat photographic exhibition recalling scenes from a bygone age to present day rescues which created a great deal of interest. Around 1,200 lives have been saved since the first recorded lifeboat was stationed at Lowestoft in 1801.

The Rt Hon Hugh Crossley said: 'The Somerleyton estate was delighted to help sponsor the RNLI to get the hovercraft to Lowestoft's living history weekend. The RNLI is an integral part of Lowestoft's history and the hovercraft an integral part of Somerleyton's history having been invented there just over 50 years ago.'

Meanwhile, for the first time in about 30 years, Corton held its first carnival and fete on Sunday. Clowns, pirates, dancers and Egyptians all turned out as the village joined forces to make the day a success.

With about 20 entries in the parade including walking groups, a scooter club, vintage cycles and floats, the procession was led by Lowestoft Air Training Corp band and started from the Lowestot and Yarmouth Rugby Club, in Old Lane, then travelled along Corton Long Lane, Station Road and The Street, ending up at Corton playing field where the grand fete took place.

Each entry had to have a specific theme which included Corton in the title and examples included Corton Royalty, Corton the Act, Corton the Nile, Pirates of Corton Inn and Go Cortonental.

The fete was opened at 1pm by Woody Bear and the mascot also selected the best float on the day - which went to Pirates of the Corton Inn.

For the past year, five Corton residents had spent many an hour working at making this event a reality and they were delighted with the amount of people that turned out and what was achieved.

Committee member June Bailey said: 'The aim was to bring the community together - and it certainly did that with profits exceeding �1,200.'

These monies will be shared between East Anglia's Children's Hospice and the East Anglian Air Ambulance.