The third annual Trowbridge Arts Festival draws to a close this weekend and has already been a fantastic success. The two weeks of arts activities kicked off with a day of dance, music and arts in the Town Hall, which was also home to a week-long art exhibition hailed as Trowbridge’s largest ever arts event, with over 3,000 people passing through the doors.

Highlights of the festival have included two shows by CBBC’s Poetry Joe and a superb range of musicians at The Pump folk club, including superlative American folk music from Beverley Smith and John Grimm, all the way from North Georgia.

The 2014 festival will close in style this weekend with a craft fair in the Town Hall on Saturday and a sold-out show on Sunday at the Arc Theatre by ’80s legend Hazel O’Connor.

Festival director Andrew Bryant has been delighted by the response to this year’s events, saying: “There has truly been something for all ages this year and it has been particularly heartening to see all ages contributing as performers.

“We have such an incredible wealth of talent in Trowbridge, and every single person participating in any way has helped to cement our reputation as being an arts town.”

Preparation is already under way for next year’s festival with some well known names in the offing. Trowbridge Arts Festival is now proving so successful events are also being considered throughout the year. However, the committee is keen to find more sponsors to ensure they can continue to build on their record of promoting major name performers.

Andrew Bryant said: “Despite only being in our third year we have attracted some major names to Trowbridge, including million selling authors and world class musicians.

“We are very grateful for the support of Trowbridge and Wiltshire Councils and to Legal and General; however we are always on the lookout for more sponsorship from local companies who are seeking to invest in their county town.”