Dates announced for Misteltoe Festival

This year's Tenbury Mistletoe Festival will take place on December 3 and promises "an artistic mix of professional, nationally acclaimed storytellers, poets, musicians, visual artists and street entertainers".

The arts festival, which also sees the town filled with festive markets, was first staged in 2004. But Tenbury Wells has been known for its mistletoe for many years, with buyers from all over the country and abroad coming to town each year for the annual auctions in the final week in November and the first two weeks in December.

Caroline Palethorpe, who took over organising the festival in 2011, said: "The mistletoe festival is the jewel in the crown for Tenbury. It is special because it is unique and is our own.

"While there are many other places that have food festivals and other similar events no one else has a mistletoe festival.

"Tenbury is the national capital of mistletoe and there is huge potential for the town to make it something that has both national and international appeal. We are already attracting visitors and performers from all over the country and people are coming to the festival from throughout the UK."

On festival day, Druids will make their annual visit to Tenbury and the day will culminate with the crowning of the Mistletoe Queen – traditionally the head girl from the Tenbury High School – at just after 4pm, as the sun sets.

Various markets during the day will involve more than 40 craft and produce stalls and in the evening there will be an Under the Mistletoe event between 8pm and 10pm in the Kings Head that will include local people telling their own stories.

The festival is the highlight of weeks of activities that start on November 19 with the switch-on for the Tenbury Chamber of Trade Christmas Lights. This year the switch-on will be on Saturday rather than Friday and will include town centre road closures. The mistletoe sales will be held at the Burford House Garden store on November 29, December 6 and December 13.