The Jesmond Community Festival has come around once more, promising more than three weeks of events and activities for all age groups.

Things officially kick off later today (May 12^th) with the Big Tidy Up starting at 4pm at 97 & Social on Osborne Road, organised by Keep Jesmond Clean.

On Saturday the festival will be in full swing, with the Grand Festival Fair taking place on St George’s Church Green, Osborne Road, from 10am to 4pm with entertainment, food, crafts, and a market.

The festival will continue until June 4^th with more than 100 events on offer. Many of last year’s venues will be taking part again, but there will also be plenty of exciting new things to see and do as well.

Most events can be attended free of charge, although some may charge a small fee to help cover costs. For the most popular events make sure you book in advance.

JesmondLocal spoke to Chris Clarke, a trustee of Jesmond Community Forum who has helped coordinate the festival programme since the Jesmond Winter Festival in 2005.

“Jesmond is very fortunate in having so many active community groups, but many of them have difficulty in reaching beyond their own core supporters,” he said. “The greatest success of the Jesmond Community Festival is in raising the profile of all the area’s fantastic community groups, and helping many of them involve more members of the wider community.”

Students from both universities will also be joining in on the action by performing at Jesmond Library in events presented by the Jesmond Residents Association. The two bands are Philonious Funk from Northumbria University and NU Jazz Orchestra from Newcastle University, who will be playing on May 13^th and May 27^th respectively.

Clarke added: “The huge variety of events includes a classic bikes rally, a search for teddy bears around the streets of Jesmond, model steam train rides on May 21st , talks, tennis, cricket, cycling, table tennis, classical music, and much more.”

The full festival programme is available at www.jesmondfestival.org.uk and you can keep up to date at www.facebook.com/jesmondfestival. Or head down to the Festival Fair tomorrow for more information about all of the events.