ORGANISERS of the inaugural Calstock Jazz & Blues Festival on October 26-28 are celebrating after being awarded £6,530 by Feast, the Cornish funding programme which supports arts activity across the county.

And if that wasn't enough to put a smile on their faces, the festival has also heard that Calstock Parish Council is pledging £250 for 'Junk Jazz', a programme of percussion workshops for young people in the area.

Feast programme director Rose Barnecut said: 'We want our funding to provide opportunities for people of all ages to get involved in being creative themselves as well as enjoying the music on offer at the festival.

'We were impressed with the ambition and professionalism of the Calstock team and are confident that the festival will become a regular feature in the Cornish musical calendar.'

The main programme of music will take place over the weekend when all the venues in the South East Cornwall village will host events ranging from internationally acclaimed jazz singer Clare Teal in the Old Chapel, to trad jazz favourite Roger Marks in the village hall, and Callington gospel singers in St Andrew's Church. But there is plenty for people to get involved in the run up to the festival.

One of the most ambitious projects is a series of workshops starting in June when local people are invited to try their hand at composing new songs that will have their premiere at the festival.

Aspiring singers or composers will benefit from the expert tuition of Helen Porter, a professional jazz singer, voice coach and composer who has a number of original musical compositions under her belt and moved to the Tamar Valley last year.

Helen said: 'Above all we're looking for enthusiasm and passion for music. If you can sing a line in your head, your song can be written and recorded. If you love to sing, your voice needs to be heard.'

Anyone interested in being involved in the song writing workshops can contact Helen on 01822 833668 or at [email protected]">[email protected] but hurry because places are limited. Costs are modest thanks to the sponsorship from Feast.

Tickets for the Calstock Jazz & Blues Festival go on sale this summer and a festival website has just gone live at http://www.calstockjazzfestival.co.uk">www.calstockjazzfestival.co.uk and will be added to in the coming weeks.

The festival is being organised by Calstock Arts, a community interest company set up in 2010 to acquire Calstock's Old Chapel as a community arts venue. Follow @calstockjazz on Twitter for updates.