The Mitcheldean Festival gets underway on Friday, with three days of live music, open mic sessions and community events held in the Forest of Dean town.

The festival, now in its fifth year, begins on Friday evening with two acoustic concerts held in the parish church and Brewery Tap, the popular micro-brewery located in the town centre. Saturday is the busiest day of the three, with the fete set to be the most popular event of the entire festival. With poetry and storytelling competitions held in the library and live music performed at the White Horse pub, it looks a great day for festival-goers to enjoy. The curtain comes down on the 2018 festival on Sunday with an open mic session and beer festival.

Andrew Maliphant, Festival Chairman, says the event will be a great day for Mitcheldean, with visitors set to boost the local economy. He said: “We’re very pleased with how the festival has developed over the last few years. What started as a small-scale event has expanded to three days of singing, dancing, poetry and story telling competitions plus many other entertaining events. It’s great for the town to welcome so many visitors every year, from speaking to local businesses it’s clear the event provides a real boost to local shops and hotels.

“We’ve worked hard to develop the festival from where we first started five years ago. We wanted to walk before we could run and build something long-term. We certainly weren’t in the position to throw money around from the beginning and pay for performers to play at the festival, but I think that’s been beneficial, it’s allowed us to involve the community and grow the festival organically. We decided from the very start that we would try and grow the festival every year and create an event that would benefit the local community.

“The Parish Council looks after the fete, the church hosts music concerts, the local school is involved, the library have come on board to support the event as well which is really encouraging. We’re a small community, it’s very comforting when everyone comes together for the benefit of the town.

“One of the most satisfying things about the festival comes from the opportunities we’re able to offer to performers who usually wouldn’t get the chance to perform in front of a large crowd. The stage is there for anyone who sings, plays music or reads poetry. There’s so many local musicians and bands that have registered to play over the three days which is really encouraging.”