A month-long festival to celebrate inclusivity is coming to Gloucestershire.

FestivALL is organised by Barnwood Trust, in partnership with a number of organisations including BBC Radio Gloucestershire, Active Impact, The Diocese of Gloucester and National Star College.

Lucy Adam, Campaigns Lead at Barnwood Trust said: “FestivALL is a month to celebrate inclusion in Gloucestershire – to shine a light on how wonderfully diverse and welcoming our communities are and to create more reasons for people to come together.

“FestivALL is all about coming together, talking, sharing and celebrating – and of course having fun in the process.”

The festival runs for the entirety of July, with events covering a range of different topics and themes and a calendar of simple ideas and ways that people can be more inclusive.

“FestivALL kicks off on Sunday 30th June in the Sensory Garden at Stratford Park in Stroud (1-4pm),” said Lucy. “It’s a free family fun afternoon and picnic, to start as we mean to go on – celebrating diversity and having fun.

“There are more free events during July that are open to everybody. Each activity starts with three powerful words; You are welcome.”

These events include things like an arts and crafts session and basic fingerspelling, and will be held at venues all over the county in places including Cheltenham, Gloucester and Tewkesbury.

After a successful debut year in 2018, the festival is hoping to build and grow again this year with support from local businesses and groups.

Lucy said: “A number of organisations wanted to show what’s good about where we live, and to break down barriers in our communities and create opportunities for us all to discover more about the people, places, wildlife, spaces, groups and organisations in our area.

“FestivALL partners include Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust, LGBT+ Partnership, Lives of Colour and many more.”

The support of these partners means events are free to attend, although some require booking in advance.

“In addition to the events,” added Lucy, “there are ‘30 Days of Inclusion’, a calendar for July filled with simple ways to reach out to new people and do more to be welcoming of others.

“We hope that people will have a go at a few of the suggestions and share ideas with their friends and neighbours. We would also love people to follow FestivALL on social media to read and share stories of diversity and inclusion from across our county.”

For more information on FestivALL and all the events visit www.festivall.org