A FEAST of music, drama, storytelling and poetry can be enjoyed at ArtsFest18 in Musselburgh.

The annual event is organised by Vibrant Musselburgh, a group which seeks to promote creativity in the town, and will take place over three days (May 18-20).

The programme seeks to showcase the talents of local artists through drama, the spoken word, music and visual arts, with activities mainly based at the Fisherrow Centre, South Street.

Jane Fairnie, chairperson of Vibrant Musselburgh, highlighted two big attractions this year – Fishwives and Fish Soup with stories and songs about the east coast fishwives, and the festival concert starring Kathy Stewart and The Frequent Flyers.

The ArtsFest will get underway with a performance called ‘Into The Carberry Woods’ – an original play by members of the Fisherrow Hub based on a selection of fairytales. It will be staged at the Fisherrow Centre from 1pm on May 18. Entry by donation.

At 7pm, the centre will host Fishwives and Fish Soup with Jan Bee Brown and Marie Louise Cochrane.

The audience will explore the history of fishwives through stories and songs, with servings of homemade soup.

Tickets, £10/£8, are available at the door.

A variety of workshops will run at the Fisherrow Centre on Saturday, May 19, with food and drinks supplied by the Artisan Van and J&J Ices.

Charlene Barnett’s jewellery-making session will be held from 10am until noon, with Tom Fairnie sharing his songwriting skills from 10am to noon. Singing for health and wellbeing will be led by Jane Lewis from 10am to 11.30am, while Rachel Amey gives tips on creative writing from 2.30pm.

A live music stage for those wishing to perform original material or inspired interpretations will be ongoing at the centre’s annexe lounge from 11.30am to 3.30pm the same day. A song-writing competition will take place in the annexe nursery room from 1pm to 4pm, with a first prize of £50, second prize of £30 and £20 third prize all up for grabs.

The Festival Concert is also on May 19, with the headliners songwriter, singer and teacher Kathy Stewart and her Peebles-based Americana band, The Frequent Flyers. They will be supported by singer/guitarist Audrey McGregor Williams, with performances from 7.30pm to 10.30pm at the Fisherrow Centre. It is a ‘bring your own bottle’ event.

On Sunday, May 20, there will be the chance to take part in an open floor event in the Vibrant ArtsFest Cafe at the Fisherrow Centre, with songs, music, poems and stories from 2pm to 5pm. Donations are welcome.

This will be followed by a Poetry Slam for aspiring poets at Staggs lounge bar, North High Street from 7.30pm to 10.30pm. Prizes of £50, £30 and £20 are on offer for the winners. Entry is £4 and it costs £2 for competitors.

E-mail vibrantmus selburgh@gmail.com for more details and to book spaces for the Saturday workshops, live music stage and song-writing competitions.