THIS year’s Upton Folk Festival looks set to be the biggest yet with ticket sales described as being “excellent.”

The event is this year celebrating its 30th birthday, and organisers have set up a fuller programme than usual on the Bank Holiday Monday, culminating in an early evening concert with Cosmotheka's music hall-based show.

Other concert artists include John Kirkpatrick, Vicki Swan and Jonny Dyer, Alice Jones, Scottish songsmith Ian Bruce, Trio Threlfall, the Melsose Quartet and Whetstone Brinsford and Burgess, with Token Women and The Pigeon Swing playing for the ceilidh dances on Saturday and Sunday nights.

The waterfront will, as always, be very full with food, clothing and instrument stalls as well as traditional dancers from all over the country.

The procession on Sunday starts at noon and is as large a display of Morris dancing to be seen anywhere in the Midlands if not the whole country.

The pubs, bars and hotels will be taken over by singers and musicians throughout the weekend and for the second year, the festival features Charles Gerard’s Regiment of Foote, who will be round all weekend and will be be putting on a family-based drill and activities at 11.30am on Monday.

Competitions include an acoustic talent contest on Saturday and the John Birmingham Cup for Song Writing on Sunday, as well as the Upton in Bloom Duck Race and the Demon Barber clog dancing competition on Monday.

Anyone interested in further details, should visit uptonfolk.org or the festival Facebook page.