The Stroud Fringe Festival is back this month with a host of shows, events and activities.

The festival is organised and run entirely by volunteers, and due to its success and growth – visitor numbers reached around 25,000 in 2017 – the team took a fallow year in 2018 to take stock and look ahead to 2019.

“Because the event had got so big it was taking up huge amounts of time,” said Julie Howe, who is part of organising group.

“It also costs around £100,000 to put on the festival safely with a large proportion of that going on things like health and safety, security and infrastructure, so we wanted to take the time to make sure we were doing everything as well as possible and to look at a fundraising strategy.”

The core volunteer team is made up of Stroud locals including Lotte Lyster (landlady of The Prince Albert in Rodborough), Pascale Pretty, Chris Mattos, Jaz Parsons, Josh Malcolm and George Withington.

Julie added: “Then there’s the extended team that programme events – Playcircle, Bandit, Chris Head Comedy, David Sheppard, Elvis McGonagall, to name a few.

“Plus the amazing team at DB Audio who supply us with world class sound equipment… and there’s our stewards, and our sponsors… so many people bring the fesival to life, and without them it just wouldn’t happen!”

The festival has been running for over 20 years, having been first held in 1996.

This year the Stroud Fringe will be held over the Bank Holiday weekend, from Friday 23rd to Sunday 25th August.

“It’s the people who come that make it special – it’s such a great atmosphere,” continued Julie, a graphic designer by trade.

“We work very hard to bring a really varied programme, mixing local talent and national artists across many genres of music and arts.

“There will hopefully be something for everyone – from music and comedy to kids workshops and street food.”

There will be live music on the main music stage – the Canal Stage – as well as a programme of world class music in St Laurence’s Church curated by John Best (manager of band Sigur Ros).

There will also be a brand-new family area from the people that run Playcircle and a new dedicated ‘Street food market’ offering cuisine from all over the world.

Also returning on the Bank Holiday Monday will be the Stroud Yard Trail, an initiative started by Victoria Ashcroft.

The trail goes through the town, and anyone who has signed up can host a yard sale, both encouraging recycling and maybe even making a few quid.

For Julie and the rest of the team, the weekend promises to be a welcome return for one of the area’s most popular events.

“Stroud Fringe is ultimately a community festival, it’s about celebrating the area we live in, the people and talent that’s here and bringing people together.

“The five valleys is a vibrant and creative place and Stroud Fringe aims to showcase that and to present a wide variety of arts to as wide an audience as possible.”

For more information on the festival and to find out how to volunteer, visit www.stroudfringe.co.uk

To sign up for the Stroud Yard Sale visit www.facebook.com/yardtrailstroud