A HEALTHY mix of traditional attractions and new additions will make this year's Pershore Plum Festival the tastiest yet.

Thousands of people are expected to flock to the town on August 31 for the festival finale.

The focus of the festival, which launches on Saturday, has always been on celebrating the heritage of plums and their relevance to Pershore, and a new exhibition — entitled World War One In The Vale — will reveal the role of plums throughout history.

Another first for the festival will see Henry Sandon, an expert on Royal Worcester Porcelain, holding a Plum Roadshow at the town hall, where people can bring along any plum paraphernalia for a valuation and find out about its history.

Festival chairman, Angela Tidmarsh, said: "Everyone is thoroughly looking forward to the festival. A lot of hard work has gone in to it.

"We are really excited and we just hope the weather stays dry. Everywhere is so purple and we have so many new events, such as our Teddy Bear's picnic and Plum Plodders race on Sunday. Social media is going crazy in the build up to the festival so we just can't wait. We hope everyone will come along, wear purple and join in with the fun. A small group of people do such a lot of work to make the festival a great success."

The town will turn a deep scarlet for window dressing competition, 50 Shades of Purple and there will also be exhibits illustrating Pershore's racing heritage, including a model of the Pershore Plum steam engine.

The festival, which takes place all around the town centre, will see a new food village featuring stall holders who will serve up inventive recipes using plums, alongside the rest of the craft stalls and other regular attractions.

Well-known festival faces, the Plum Charmer and Prunella Plum, will also make an appearance alongside a raft of entertainers and musicians.

For more information visit www.pershoreplumfestival.org.uk.