MEGA star of the 1960s Georgie Fame is to headline the Okehampton Arts Festival in July which has a line-up of talent to suit every taste and age.
The rhythm and blues singer and pianist who had No.1 hits with 'Yeh Yeh' 'Getaway' and 'The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde' will be supported by Okehampton's own rockers The Hard Place Band.
Georgie came up trumps from a shortlist of stars drawn up by the festival committee which included Van Morrison.
An ambitious programme of events is planned with a mixed blend of local, national and international artists.
But if people think the eight-day festival is big this year, next year it is going to be huge, according to committee secretary Mandy Kenyon.
'We are trying to put a smile on the face of Okehampton and get something good going in the town,' she said.
'The festival was revived last year and afterwards we got many comments on how we could do it better. Well, we have taken all this on board.'
Big names and big events are the name of the game — with the 'Party in the Park' billed as a 'mini-Glastonbury' and featuring a whole host of artist like soul singer Maggie Readay, the Nightporters and local bands The Hard Place Band and Nightfever.
International Vision is the theme for the festival with many different styles of music and artists coming from as far as Canada.
To appeal to the kids there is a multi-cultural play day and puppet show. DJ mixing and African drumming and dance workshops are expected to draw the teenagers and a professional tea dance has been planned for the senior citizens.
Art exhibitions, jazz events, a beer festival, choirs and bands and many other events are in the pipeline and opening the festival on Saturday July 8 will be the renowned Ten Tors Orchestra.
The committee had enjoyed a kick start with a grant of £5,000 from Villages in Action — a fund which supports arts festivals by giving local people a chance to experience professional artists in whatever form on their doorstep.
Sponsorship is currently being sought to find the rest of the funds to insure a successful festival.
Organisers believe there is a lot of talent in the woodwork locally but it just needs to be exposed and the festival is just the place for doing that.
Chairman of the festival committee Alan King said in terms of cultural activities there was a lot going on locally but it was not shouted about a great deal.
'We get overlooked because of this especially in terms of art,' he said.
'There is such a lot of talent in this area — we just need a big performance to make people stand up and take notice.'
Mr King said getting a star like Georgie Fame to come to Okehampton was tremendous.
'He was big in the 1960s but he has been very consistent since then and worked with a lot of other big stars in the way that Jools Holland does today,' he said.
He added that The Hard Place Band was so thrilled to be supporting the star.
'For them to appear on the same bill is like giving them £300 because they are a rhythm and blues band supporting what they consider to be one of the master of this style of music,' he said.