Sunday 16 March - Stowmarket Day
The Museum of East Anglian Life opens its doors for the 2008 season on Sunday 16 March with its traditional free Stowmarket Day. It provides the opportunity for visitors to see what's new around the museum and take advantage of a 25% discount on the normal price of a museum season ticket. During last years Stowmarket Day year the museum welcomed almost 2,000 visitors.

This year visitors will be able to see the Empress of Britain - one of the Museums Burrell traction engines - in steam, listen to stories in our new storytelling area (to be officially launched at 2pm) and see some of the changes that have happened around the site over the winter months.

2007 proved to be a successful year at the museum. It played host to an acclaimed Gypsy Arts festival, opened up access to 35 acres of wetland meadow, saw its visitor numbers increase by 15% and finished off the year by wining the Suffolk Tourism Sustainability Award in recognition of its environmental work.

This year the museum deepens its commitment to the environment by encouraging its visitors to go green. Visitors arriving by public transport or bike will receive £1 off their admission fee. In June in partnership with Natural England the museum will hold an event to promote local food and farming. Museum director Tony Butler says, "Climate change encourages us to think global and act local. If we can encourage our visitors to think a bit more about where their food comes from they may think twice about buying products like apples which have been flown halfway round the world when there are perfectly good orchards on our doorstep."

The museum also promotes local food through its popular bistro and delicatessen. It hopes to encourage people to shop locally and live healthier lives. There will also be a food trail for young people around the museum examining the journey of food from the soil to the plate.

The museum will also host its perennially popular programme of events. Highlights include the Farm Day on Easter Sunday, Beer Festival at the beginning of July, Gypsy Arts Festival in July and Traditional Music Day in at the end of August. A new feature will be Evening MEAL. Every Thursday in August the museum will open its doors until 8pm. Tony Butler says "The museum grounds look lovely on summer evenings. We'd encourage families to discover our historic displays or take a stroll along the river. You could always bring a picnic to enjoy in the evening sunshine." There will be half priced admissions after 6pm.