Only at the KFE Annual Ball would you be welcomed by a roaming, life-size animatronic elephant as well as acrobats, magicians, jugglers and stilt walkers!
All the stops were pulled out for this year’s circus-themed event, held on Sunday 14th May at the Belfry Hotel & Resort in Sutton Coldfield, Near Birmingham.
Over 190 representatives from the fish and chip industry – including over 65 shop owners – took their seats ringside as entertainment rained down from every direction.
While a three-course meal was served, a singing ringmaster led a dazzling show of dancers, LED hula hoop artists and aerial artists.
There were plenty of opportunities throughout the night for guests to win fun fair swag by trying their hand at popular circus attractions including Donkey Derby, Play Your Cards Right, Riffle Shooting and Coconut Shy, or simply fill up on popcorn and candyfloss.
Drawing the biggest crowd by far was the Strongman game where guests squared up to each other to test their strength. While many became frustrated at their failure – even after multiple attempts – the likes of Kelly Barnes of Krispies and Nigel Ramsay of Middleton’s made it look easy, hitting the bell on their first try!
A band and disco entertained into the early hours of the morning, with rumours that the last guests left the bar around 4am!
Going for golf
During the day, golfers of all abilities took to the greens. We had 26 golfers tee off on the Brabazon Course for our KFE Golf Tournament, while 60 – the most we’ve ever had – played crazy golf on the Ryder Legends course.
Whether playing seriously or just for fun, everyone was vying for a trophy.
Unfortunately, Lee Swain of Whitstones in Shepton Mallet, Somerset, was piped to the post by his son Ashleigh, who beat him to the KFE 2023 Winners trophy by just one point!
Meanwhile, Matt Kirk of Eric’s Fish & Chips was lucky enough to get the tournament’s first ever hole in one. His triumph earned him the honour of buying everyone in the bar a drink – at £180 per bottle of whiskey, one bottle had to go around a lot of people!
Michael Dickman of BD Signs and BDigital kept up his losing streak – coming last for a second year in a row. Hopefully, the drink he endured during the prize-giving ceremony will motivate him to improve for next year!
The winners and losers were:
KFE Golf Tournament
KFE 2023 Winner – Ashleigh Swain, Whitstones in Shepton Mallet.
KFE 2023 Runner Up – Lee Swain, Whitstones in Shepton Mallet.
Nearest the Pin – Lee Swain, Whitstones in Shepton Mallet.
Nearest the Pin in 2 – Ashleigh Swain, Whitstone’s in Shepton Mallet.
Longest Drive – Mike Hulme, Finney’s in Anglesey.
Hole in One – Matt Kirk, Eric’s Fish & Chips in Norfolk
Winner of Whoosh b******* Trophy – Michael Dickman, BD Signs and BDigital with 9 points.
KFE Mini Golf
Mini Golf 2023 Winner – Marijke Okkerman, Qbtec in Holland, with 30 points.
Wooden Spoon – Shannon from Krispies with 66 points.
A special thank you
We would like to extend a special thank you to our sponsors without who we could not host such a fantastic event: Tower Finance, Friars Pride, Kerry, Middleton Foods, QBTEC, Drywite, Elite Shopfitters, Leicester Machine Movers, BD Signs & BDigital and Panaepos.
