VOLUNTEERS are needed for the first Bromyard Hop Festival.

The Herefordshire town, part of Britain’s biggest hop-farming area, will host the festival, planned for Saturday, September 3.

Organisers have received the backing of local businesses as well as Bromyard and Winslow Town Council, and have emphasised they want the day to be “everyone’s festival.”

Local businessman Ian Raven, a member of the festival planning group, said: “This is an opportunity for schools to take part, for sports clubs to send a team to take part in a hop pocket race around the town, for musicians and poets, people with family memories and stories, and for amateur actors to get involved in a performance of the Hop Play.

“The festival is also an opportunity for businesses to benefit long-term by raising Bromyard’s profile.”

An initial schedule drawn-up for the Hop Festival includes a horse-drawn vehicle parade through the town, a hop pocket race, and day-long events on the town green, including a hog roast, English country music, country games and Old Tyme amusements.

Local pubs will each feature a different ale, and there will be a historical display by Bromyard History Society.

Councillor Roger Phillips, leader of Herefordshire Council, said: “As a lifelong Herefordian, I recognise the importance that the hop industry has had for our county. I am very pleased to hear of an initiative which aims to harness that for the economic and community well-being of our county.”

The organisers are also looking to hear from people outside of Herefordshire, in industrial areas such as the Black Country, South Wales, and Birmingham, who may have worked on the farm in years gone by to share their childhood memories.

If you have any ideas, would like to take part, or represent a business, group or club that can help make the festival the first in years of annual success, contact Chris Barltrop on 01885 483887, or e-mail chris_barltrop@yahoo.com.