The very first Chilcompton Fringe Festival is being held from 12 noon until 11 p.m. on Sunday, 27th August at the Chilcompton Sports Ground, and the line-up is looking truly exciting!

The committee have organised a wealth of talented musicians, bands, writers, poets and drama groups, who are confirmed to take part in an explosion of new and emerging creative talent!

Alongside bars and street stalls, there will be performance stages in three marquees, literary workshops, food and drink markets, art and craft stalls and activities, along with local volunteer groups and charities.

Organisers hope the new Bank Holiday event will appeal to a wide audience. A fantastic variety of musical acts, including ‘Shake the Tree’, ‘Hurry Up Harry,’ ‘Real Life’, ‘Hidden Gentlemen’, ‘Parfanon’, ‘Venezuelan Pig Rustlers’, ‘200 Hurts’, ‘Fraser Road Race’, ‘Stealth Legion’, ‘Bewildered Herd’, Helena and many more have already confirmed that they will play, and the Mendip Brass Band will play twice during the afternoon. There is music to appeal to all tastes!

But the new festival will be so much more than music, with upwards of thirty hours of stage time available across a full range of performance types.

There will be drama and musical theatre from Exit Stage Left and authors, including Jenny Kane, Jennifer Ash, Tracey Norman, Chris Tetrault-Blay, Richard Dee and Mark Norman will all be reading, plus poetry by P.J. Reed and Trina J. Stacey. Fascinating and informative literary workshops will take place throughout the afternoon.

The festival still has stage time available for comedy acts, but whatever your creative output, the committee would be delighted to discuss how you could get involved. They have a particular desire to see new talent coming through – so don’t be shy!

A spokesperson for the event said: “The Chilcompton Sports Ground is a fabulous amenity, and it is good that we are able to increase the value it provides to the community by hosting a different type of cultural event.

“Because we want each act to be able to perform to a good audience size, we have ensured public access to the event is affordable, with ‘early bird’ entry before 5 p.m. Anyone arriving after 5 p.m. will pay slightly more.

The festival will raise much-needed funds for local volunteer groups and charities, along with being an inspiration for many.”

If you would like to get involved as a performer or are willing to help the committee, please get in touch by calling: 07740 896085, email: info@chilcompton fringefest.co.uk, or visit: www.chilcomptonfringefest.co.uk

More information can also be found in next week’s Journal’s ‘Shall We Go Out’ pages.