PLANS are well underway for the third West Malvern Arts Festival which takes place next month.


The festival will be held in various venues in the village ranging from gazebos and private garages to St James’ Church, West Malvern Primary School and The Brewers Arms, between Friday and Sunday, August 17 and 19.


This year, the festival is likely to be hosting 80 plus artists, showcasing a wide variety of work ranging from sculpture and jewellery to glassware and calligraphy, as well as painters, photography and mixed media.


In the run-up to the festival, a group from the festival’s committee visited the French village of Saint-Cénerie-le-Gérie in Southern Normandy, where the concept for the festival was discovered.


The French festival features about 37 artists and has been held in late May for the past 27 years.


During their visit the group met Monsieur Guillaume Le Royer, the president of the French Arts Festival committee, who was “delighted” to hear that West Malvern had copied their model into an ongoing festival.


The West Malvern Arts Festival will take place on Friday, August 17 between 2pm and 7pm and Saturday and Sunday, August 18 and 19, between 11am and 6pm.


Entry for both artists and the public is free and a reasonable commission is charged on sales made.


Any artist wishing to participate in the festival should contact Laurie Gregory on 07801 8181260 or 01684 567143 as soon as possible.
For more information, visit westmalvernarts.org.