THERE'S a groundswell of support for the first ever Tavistock Heritage Festival, which takes place in the autumn, and a logo which encapsulates the town's rich and varied history has been chosen for the event. The design by nine-year-old Esmae Waters, from Tavistock Primary School, was selected from 50 entries and will be featured on all the publicity material. Chairman of the festival Dr Geri Parlby was full of praise for the entries: 'We were immensely impressed by the standard of the work sent in from the schools. All the entries displayed creativity and imagination. 'The winning design has managed to incorporate our three themes of the Abbey, Sir Francis Drake and mining perfectly.' The winners and runners up will be presented with their prizes — the first prize being a Kindle E Reader donated by sponsors of the event Gill Akaster solicitors — at Tavistock Library this Saturday (June 21). For three days in October the town will be alive with exhibitions, displays, talks, guided walks, concerts, workshops, plays, a heritage craft market and a variety of living history events all highlighting some key moments in the town's history. 'The aim of the festival is to highlight and celebrating Tavistock's unique history,' added Dr Parlby. 'The festival was the brainchild of Tavistock Rotary Club, but every leading heritage expert in the town is involved and many organisations including the Tavistock History Society, museum, Robey Trust and the Town Heritage Partnership are also taking part. 'Both Kelly College and Tavistock College are involved and the whole festival really links in with the World Heritage Site status. 'I am surprised we have not done a festival like this before as Tavistock is so rich in heritage. 'Let's just say we will not be short of material.' There will be a special opening ceremony on October 24 featuring guest speakers Dr Ian Mortimer (Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England) and the historical novelist Michael Jecks discussing history, folklore and historical fiction. Follow the website as all the exciting events are unveiled at http://www.tavistockheritagefestival.co.uk">www.tavistockheritagefestival.co.uk