by James Scott
jscott@thekmgroup.co.uk

Thousands of visitors are expected to invade Tenterden this weekend for the town’s folk festival.
Tenterden’s 19th annual folk festival begins tonight (Thursday) with an intimate concert in the town hall by folk legend Ashley Hutchings, founder of Fairport Convention and Steeleye Span.
And the following three days will see the town full of music, dancers and people with black-painted faces strolling the streets.
A record number of morris men are due to take part in this year’s festival, with the organisers expecting more than 40 sides to arrive from all over the country, including Slovak dancers from London.
Festival director and founder member Alan Castle said: “We’ve got a record number of dance groups this year, with 43 coming. We’re also expecting something like 4,000 people over the weekend.”
Hotels and B&Bs in and around Tenterden are expected to be fully booked and the town’s restaurants and pubs will be doing a roaring trade.
There will be a host of musical events and concerts from 10.30am tomorrow (Friday), with live music at venues throughout the town.
There will also be stalls set up in the High Street and in a marquee on the recreation ground selling a variety of wares.
There is an art exhibition in the town hall featuring the work of Terry Anthony, who will be showing a selection of his paintings of Romney Marsh, Dr Syn and the famous scarecrow character.
One of the highlights of the weekend will be the procession along the High Street at 3pm on Saturday.
For more information log on to www.tenterdenfolkfestival.
org.uk