THE Chew Valley Hoard is coming home to Somerset, and Valley Arts is throwing a party.

From 10am to 4pm on June 20, the Old School Rooms in Chew Magna will play host to a free day of live music, storytelling, hands-on activities, screen printing and a treasure trail, organised by Valley Arts and South West Heritage Trust. Visitors will also get the chance to see – for the very first time in the South West – the real coins from the Chew Valley Hoard.

‘Every Coin Tells a Story’ will be a free community celebration day marking a key moment in the wider Chew Valley Hoard Project. Valley Arts is busy delivering an ambitious programme of arts, heritage and community engagement in collaboration with South West Heritage Trust to celebrate one of England's most significant Norman Conquest-era coin discoveries.

The Chew Valley Hoard is the largest coin hoard ever found from the period of turmoil immediately following the Norman Conquest. It consists of 2,584 silver coins spanning the reigns of Harold II and William the Conqueror. They were buried in a Chew Valley field nearly a thousand years ago, c.1067-68, likely for safekeeping in the turmoil of the Conquest. This June, they return to the community they came from.

The Chew Valley Hoard was acquired by the South West Heritage Trust for the Somerset Council museum collection under the Treasure Act 1996 thanks to a £4,420,527 grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, a £150,000 grant from Art Fund and smaller but vital amounts of funding from South West Heritage Trust, Somerset Archaeological and Natural History Society and the Friends of the Museum of Somerset.

The day will be packed. Drop-in activities running throughout include coin embossing with artist Giuliana Terran, macro photography, a medieval dress-up photoshoot, and a treasure trail winding through the courtyard and cemetery with a prize at the end. A cafe will also be open all day.

In the Upper Hall, a full programme of free events runs from 10am to 4pm with no booking needed:

• 10am: the coin display opens. For one day only, coins from the Chew Valley Hoard go on public display in the South West for the very first time.

• 11am and 2pm: award-winning storyteller Sarah Mooney brings tales of treasure, history and the Chew Valley to life.

• 11.45am and 3pm: South West Heritage Trust Senior Curator Amal Khreisheh tells the story of the Hoard's discovery, its significance, and what happens next, followed by an audience Q&A.

• 12.45pm to 2pm: live music from Nigel Bookish (folk, blues and country) and singer-songwriter Ted Waters.

Entry to everything is free: no tickets needed – and all ages are welcome.

The summer will culminate with ‘Finders Keepers’, a new outdoor theatre production featuring a community cast of over 40 people from around the Valley. Performances take place at Yeo Valley Organic Garden, Blagdon, on July 18 (2pm and 7pm) and July 19 (1.30pm and 6pm). Tickets are available online from valley-arts.co.uk.