Organisers have launched the biennial 10 Parishes Festival which will return to Wiveliscombe and surrounding villages this September.

The visual and performing arts festival stretches over nine days and features artist open studios along with performance and community events.

Festival director Pauline Homeshaw said: “The festival achieves so many things, not only developing awareness and revenue for participating artists, but bringing the whole community together in a celebration of local talent and our way of life.

“The theme for this year’s festival is ‘New Leaf’, which moves neatly on from the 2019 focus on re-use and re-cycle.

“The festival committee feel that for 2021 everyone really is ready for a new beginning and are using their experiences over the last 12 months as a base for looking at life differently.”

Local artists are invited to register their involvement now and have the option to incorporate the New Leaf theme into their work, should they so choose.

A new addition to the team this year is an artist who has exhibited previously at the festival. Fiona Holmes teaches pottery from her studio at Waterrow and has taken over management of the website.

Fiona will work in close conjunction with Bathealton artist Aga Karmol, who oversees the creative representation of the festival and promotional guide.

Artists can register via www.10parishesfestival.org.uk or by email – [email protected]