YOUNGSTERS will have their own activities at this year s FolkWeek, under the banner Young Sidmouth. This part of Sidmouth FolkWeek provides entertainment and activities for youngsters of all ages.

YOUNGSTERS will have their own activities at this year's FolkWeek, under the banner Young Sidmouth.

This part of Sidmouth FolkWeek provides entertainment and activities for youngsters of all ages.

Its hub is the town's Blackmore Gardens, which will have activities taking place from 9.30am to late afternoon.

For under-sixes, Little Folk Tent will provide craft sessions, music and dancing, while there will be Join the Band workshops for young musicians in two age groups - seven to 10 and 11 to15 - and all instruments and abilities are welcome.

Also in two age groups are singing and dancing sessions and for older ones a special series of workshops, led by Will Lang, percussionist with Park Bench Social Club, one band at the festival.

Over 15s can join the World Youth Choir led by Stream of Sound, a young group from the West Midlands, who perform a mix of music including gospel, jazz and African folk songs.

Shooting Roots, who formed at Sidmouth a few years ago, will organise a series of workshops with Devon songs, tunes and step dancing and putting on a show: The Devon Concert Party, at the end of the week.

Music sessions, hosted by Will Lang, will let people play along with some of the guests booked for FolkWeek.

Festival spokesman John Dowell said: "There are lots of activities for whole families to join in with, including basket making and shadow puppets, as well as making lanterns for the torchlight procession at the end of the festival."

Between noon and 2pm each day, Live at Lunchtime will present a mixture of storytelling, music and singalongs in Blackmore Gardens with performances from entertainers such as Wynndebagge, everyone's favourite bagpiper and hurdy-gurdy player, and No Strings Puppet Theatre.

There will also be a family concert later each afternoon with festival artists.

A special treat for young dancers is planned with Dance on the Move, a series of free dance and beat-boxing workshops from 12-4pm on Saturday, August 1, led by local dance artists as part of the Dancing Devon 2008 Festival, where people can learn all sorts of dance forms including breakdance, Bollywood, street, jazz and contemporary.

There are hundreds of other events happening during FolkWeek, details of which can be found at www.sidmouthfolkweek.co.uk or from Sidmouth Information Centre.