Exmouth Festival is here... Today, (Thursday May 21), the first festival events kick off in Manor Gardens and tomorrow, the festival will be in full swing.

Exmouth Festival is here... Today, (Thursday May 21), the first festival events kick off in Manor Gardens and tomorrow, the festival will be in full swing. There are plenty of festival programmes, so if you haven't got your hands on one, pop down to Manor Gardens or go to www.exmouthfestival.org.ukCome rain or shine, there is a huge range of events laid on.With a year's worth of planning and a huge range of different people coming together to organise this fantastic event - a drop of rain won't stop us now!Today, the gardens will host some great local acts at lunch time. Things kick off with Lara Conley - a fantastic local singer-songwriter. Closely followed by Jason Wallace, who treats us to a spot of flamenco, Dan Crisp - who has played with the likes of Joss Stone - will then take the stage.The afternoon will conclude with a seriously funky performance from Red Out. After a brief rest, the evening's performances then ignite at 7pm, with a choice of the festival stomp - a collection of seriously good blues acts! The Exe Factor - Devon's best battle of the bands! There will also be a poetry event in the library, Indie band 'The Quails' will play in The Strand and there will be a classical recital in 11a! Saturday sees the opening of the Children's tent - packed full of some great workshops for the younger ones! Music-wise, the day kicks off with a rather special performance of Indian classical music, followed by local songstress Vicky Hewitt, who will provide a featured opening performance to our yearly showcase - the strawberry jam. The rest of the day offers a vibrant mix of samba, beat folk and ska. Lively and varied to say the least. Make sure you don't miss it. In Phear Park there will be a fantastic graffiti demo from some serious talent, it would be criminal to miss this! For those who have a soft spot for the Exmouth Shanty Men (who hasn't?) they will be bringing along some other Shanty Acts, which will add a new dimension. There is a fantastic Shanty Cruise on offer, with tickets available from (01392) 222144, all proceeds going to the festival, courtesy of Stuart Lines! The rest of the week features yet more vibrant and exciting stuff, including sand sculpture competitions and, of course, the finale concert on the Imperial Recreation Ground (tickets available from the festival website).There really is so much going on, you won't be able to fit it all in! John Wokersien, town clerk, said:'This year's festival is a tribute to our town."So much work has gone into making it better than ever and the whole product is now so rich and varied - the Festival really shows Exmouth in its best light - a great place to live and a great place to visit." So, remember come rain or shine, there is something for you to do. Please pick up or download a programme from www.exmouthfestival.org.uk and tune into Bay FM (107.9), Exmouth's community radio station for all the latest festival news.