WINCHCOMBE is gearing up for its eight day celebration of music, art and entertainment from May 22-29.

Musicians, poets, sculptors, historians, crafters, comedians, dancers and stilt-walkers will gather for its Festival of Music and Arts.

Along with its acclaimed sculpture exhibition and art trail there will be a broad mix of music to suit many tastes.

Music covers top-class jazz, classical, blues, opera, country, pop and rock, and tickets have just gone on sale.

Ledbury-based Roving Crows are known for their ability to challenge the norm by blending electronica-infused dance grooves with Celtic-inspired fiddle and folk.

The band’s fans include TV and radio presenter Paul O’Grady and you can hear why when they play Toddington Village Hall on May 28.

The Swansea City Opera singers show Mozart in a whole new light on May 28 with a witty portrayal of the composer’s fascinating life, loves and music.

The evening at St Peter’s Church includes excerpts from big hitters like The Marriage of Figaro and The Magic Flute alongside lesser-known operas.

Getting the Carducci String Quartet is a coup for the festival as the foursome regularly play some of the best venues in the world from Carnegie Hall in The Big Apple, to Wigmore Hall in The Big Smoke.

In Winchcombe they’ll play St Peter’s Church on May 23.

Picnic blankets will be unfurled for Jazz In The Garden on May 28 when the Spa Notes quartet liven up the grounds of St Mary’s on Cowl Lane and the sounds of Django Reinhardt and Stéphane Grappelli are played in Toddington by Swing From Paris the day before, May 27.

Several events engage with the festival’s theme, celebrating 1,000 years since the demise of the little-known county of Winchcombeshire, a medieval region which lasted for just one decade.

Also on the music bill are Cheltenham’s Oriel Singers, The Apple Mashers, Rick Payne, UkesAnon, plus Edd Donovan And The Wandering Moles.

Improv comedy provides a lighter note when Comic Sans Script hit The White Hart Inn to quite literally make fun of topics the audience suggest.

And more than 17 artists open their doors for passers-by to peak in their studios on the art trail whilst Charingworth Court’s gardens provide the backdrop for the impressive sculpture exhibition curated by Jane Smoczynski, owner of Winds of Change gallery.

With workshops, dancing, drawing classes, poetry, quizzes and a big Bank Holiday street fair to end on it’s a week-long high.

  •  Winchcombe Festival of Music and Arts takes place from May 22-29. Visit winchcombefestival.co.uk or pick up a brochure Tourist Information and other places around the town. Call 01242 602925 for details.