A NATIONAL Lottery Award has been granted to Hatherleigh Festival to enable organisers to develop the event's multi-cultural flavour.
Hatherleigh Festival, which runs from July 6 to 9, has received £1,100 under the Millennium Festival Award Scheme to present 'Spirit Talk Mbira' an eight-piece band from Zimbabwe.
The band is led by Chartwell Dutiro who is one of the world's leading Mbira players (thumb piano.)
Members of the public will be invited to join in and play the instrument at the festival and this will be followed by what promises to be a stunning performance by the band in the Square on the Saturday night.
This will be an exclusive opportunity to see Chartwell, who will be featured live on ITV's Westcountry Weekend on Friday July 7, perform live in this country and the event will be free.
Festival organiser Jamie Bush said: 'This will be an occasion to remember and unlikely to be seen again in this part of the country.'
The biggest 'small festival' in Devon enters its fifth year building on its previous success with a few changes.
Inspiration and performers again come from the Devon delta and the international arena including Bulgaria, Finland, Wales, Ireland and Cornwall.
New to the festival is Exeter's Timepiece Comedy Club — three comics from the national circuit. Headlining will be Milton Jones, winner of the Perrier Best Newcomer at the Edinburgh Festival, whose second series of his BBC Radio show finished this week.
Jamie said that a donation of £1,000 from Waitrose had allowed the festival organisers to bring in these changes.
'Waitrose has been very generous but so have other local businesses without whose support the festival would not go ahead,' he said.