New marquee to welcome hundreds more at Shrewsbury Folk Festival

The sold-out event, which sees hoards of folk enthusiasts descend on the town, will take place in August, and the new marquee will be able to seat an additional 300 people.

The mosh pit will still be in action for die-hard fans though, alongside workshops and a tent with a difference.

The peace tent is a new venue for 2014, to commemorate the centenary of the Great War and a peace song will also be performed.

Hundreds of people are expected to descend on Shrewsbury from August 22 and artists include Bellowhead and Seth Lakeman.

Many families camp at the West Mid Showground where the festival is held, and free buses are also provided into the city centre.

Morris sides and dance teams from across the country who are visiting Shrewsbury for the festival will join with musicians to parade from the Castle to The Square on August 23 to celebrate the festival.

They will congregate at the Castle from 12.30pm, with the parade beginning at 1.30pm from the castle grounds.

The parade will dance up Castle Street to the top of Pride Hill and make its way down the pedestrianised street towards Shoplatch, where it will turn left into the High Street and immediate right in to the Square, arriving just after 2pm.

Shrewsbury's Mayor, councillor Beverley Baker, a regular visitor to the festival, will lead the procession.

Teams taking part will be the Shropshire Bedlams and Martha Rhoden's Tuppeny Dish, Shrewsbury Morris, the Ironmen and Severn Gilders, Chinewrde Morris, Severn Sisters Tribal Belly Dancers, Hammersmith Morris and Dawnswyr Delyn, a Welsh folk dance side.

It is the second year that the festival has hosted the parade through the town, which will lead to a road closure in Castle Street and High Street for a very short time.

Festival Director Alan Surtees said: 'Our first parade through the town last year was a brilliant success with shoppers enjoying a magnificent spectacle, led by the town crier Martin Wood and the then Mayor Jon Tandy.

"There was quite a lot of interaction with shoppers and shop staff and some Morris teams even found their way into one or two shops much to the surprise of the customers and staff.

"We will recreate the same carnival atmosphere this year and dancers and musicians will entertain the crowds once they reach the Square."

The line up includes Bellowhead, Seth Lakeman, Lau, Blackie and The Rodeo Kings, The Dhol Foundation, Steve Knightley's Wake the Union and The Full English.

As well as music and dance, there are dozens of workshops programmed, a children's festival, Refolkus - a dedicated youth programme for 12 to 25-year-olds, on-site camping, a craft fair and food village. For more information about the festical visit www.shrewsburyfolkfestival.co.uk