It's not long until the bunting will go up in Beaminster Square for a week of festivities celebrating the arts.

Beaminster Festival will be held from June 23 to July 1 and includes concerts, art and photography exhibitions and a street party.

Lois Pearson, the new artistic director, has planned a full programme of high quality music but also has devised many extra events to take music and the arts into the local schools and residential homes so that even those who cannot get to the concerts at the church can feel part of the festival.

Mountjoy School will have three exciting workshops from singing to dance and drama to steel pans. Their Hand Bell Team is excited to perform again at mini pre-coffee concert sporting their new uniform.

Parrett and Axe, Beaminster and Perrott Hill Schools will also showcase their talents at pre-coffee concerts in the church.

The Magnard Ensemble, a wind quintet, will have a busy week performing interactive concerts for the local schools and Year 7 at Beaminster School.

For those who love art, there will be an art and photography exhibition by Beaminster School students at Yarn Barton and Beaminster Museum. One lucky student has been invited for work experience to shadow a professional photographer throughout the festival.

Seniors will have a great time at Music for Memories at Abbeyfield on Tuesday June 26 at 10.30am and newcomers are invited free, and Hilary Foggo will give another session of film clips of Your Favourite Songs on Thursday June 28 at 10.30am.

There is a special Songs and Scones concert for Seniors in the Public Hall at 2pm on Wednesday June 27.

Beaminster Playgroup, St Mary’s Academy and Mountjoy will all have work singing, dance, drama or craft workshops on the theme of Roald Dahl’s Revolting Rhymes, the non PC version of Little Red Riding Hood and the Three Little Pigs.

Lois’s first thought when planning the festival was to mix up the generations and she is thrilled that the children will join together with Beaminster Seniors at St Mary’s Gardens for a Sing Song Tea Party. The Seniors may be surprised that Little Red Riding Hood now has attitude and pulls a pistol from her knickers to shoot the wolf dead!

Revolting Rhymes and Marvellous Music is an exciting family show presented by zany actor Rebecca Kenny backed by the Magnard Ensemble, to be performed at the Public Hall on Saturday June 30 at 10.30am – children free.

The opening free Street Party on Saturday June 23 in Beaminster Square with local bands, food stalls and the Pavilion Bar always has a great atmosphere, and when finished music will continue in the Red Lion. The new Community Picnic is for all the family with St Swithun’s Band, Punch and Judy, circus skills, stilt walker, and music activities for children at Beaminster Manor on Sunday July 1.

All these activities have been made possible by the generous donation by the Belacqua Trust, Cavatina Chamber Music Trust, Live Music Now, private donors, local businesses, the Town Council and others.

*Beaminster Festival, June 23 to July 1. Call 01308 862943 in the mornings for more information or see the full programme at beaminsterfestival.com or see the brochure.