THE pavements of Kidderminster will be transformed into a "carpet of dreams" in the forthcoming Kidderminster Arts Festival.

Creating an urban canvas on the town's streets is one of many exciting activities organised for the fun-filled extravaganza, designed to appeal to all ages and walks of life.

A vast piece of street art will be created in the Swan Centre and High Street, Kidderminster, on July 30.

Other events planned for KAF, which kicks off on July 29, include bhangra dancing by Birmingham Punjabi dancers Nachda Sansaar, who performed in front of the Queen at the Manchester Commonwealth Games, and African drumming workshops by Kidderminster performer Rod Smith.

The council's creative arts consultant Paul Hawkins, who helped organise KAF, said it had a "truly international flavour".

"This is the first time Kidderminster has had an arts festival and I think that's an achievement in itself," he said.

"All the performers are professionals with a core following and we've made sure all the events are applicable to the whole family - people can bring their toddlers and their grandparents."

Kidderminster Town Hall will also host native American arts workshops by Bear Wolf and Red Horse on July 30 and a circus show and workshops the following day.

Innovative classes will teach children everything from juggling and plate spinning to unicycle and tightrope skills.

Samba band music, acrobatic theatre by the Tanzanian Black Eagles and a DJ workshop are also on the agenda for Wyre Forest culture vultures.

However, for literary lovers the festival's highlight will be Smiling Aloud with Birmingham's former Poet Laureate, Simon Pitt, on August 1.

The experienced poet, writer and storyteller, who has toured the UK and Europe, will read poetry and stories, and perform rap and comedy in Kidderminster Library.

Mikron Theatre Company will also perform All Steamed Up on August 7, a traditional play which follows a locomotive theme.

An abstract art exhibition, entitled Meditations, by Paul Langford starts on August 30 and runs until the festival closes on September 20.

Mr Hawkins said the exhibition by the Tenbury Wells-based artist is the "perfect" way to round the festival off after weeks of frenetic activity.

"He is producing a body of largely abstract work, which is designed to help people to reflect on the pace of modern life and inspire them to make time for themselves," he explained.

"We all lead busy lives with careers and social life and we can get locked in to that so the idea of this visual art exhibition is to take time to reflect on our own lives."

He added: "You would normally see an exhibition of this quality in an exhibition in a city gallery so we were quite fortunate to secure it for Kidderminster."

l Next week the Shuttle/Times and News starts a series of articles running up to the festival and will turn the spotlight on a host of activities during the 54-day extravaganza.