A national campaign celebrating village halls and the fantastic work volunteers do in these venues is coming to Dorset next week.

Following on from a successful opening year in 2018, Artsreach will celebrate the second ever Village Halls Week from Tuesday, January 22.

Organised by Action with Communities in Rural England (ACRE) and the ACRE Network, Village Halls Week celebrates the diverse variety of activities that take place in village halls across England.

Running from January 22-28, Village Halls Week is also an opportunity to say a big thank you to the many volunteers who work tirelessly to ensure their community buildings stay open for everyone to enjoy.

To coincide with this campaign, Belgian band WÖR will come to Dorset for two special concerts this spring.

They will perform at Morden Village Hall on January 25 at 7:30pm and Powerstock Hut on January 26 at 7.30pm.

As Dorset’s rural touring arts charity, Artsreach brings professional performances of theatre, music, dance, and more to village halls in the county.

Artsreach Marketing Officer Becky Varndell said: “Village halls are at the heart of many of Dorset’s rural communities, and without village halls and their volunteers, schemes like Artsreach would struggle to exist, so this celebration is very important to us.

“Village Halls Week is a fantastic opportunity to showcase how village hall events help to bring communities together.”

Artsreach’s umbrella organisation, The National Rural Touring Forum, are celebrating Village Halls Week by commissioning a poem by well-known UK stand-up poet Kate Fox.

Ms Fox has written a piece to amusingly encapsulate the breadth of events and things you might take part in during a week at your local village hall.

She will premiere the poem by performing it live on BBC radio stations on Monday, January 21 to kick off Village Halls Week.

Throughout Village Halls Week, Artsreach will have a display in both Dorset County Hall and Dorchester Library, where you can find out more about the charity, see what’s coming up this season and pick up a spring programme.

Artsreach will also be sharing photos, videos and comments from previous shows on its social media channels, as well as teasing what’s coming up later this year.

Find Artsreach on Twitter @Artsreach or on Facebook @Artsreachdorset to keep up to date and celebrate this special week with them. You can also find out more about Artsreach by visiting www.artsreach.co.uk.