Two minutes' silence to be held at Saturday’s Kindness Fest in Newtown

A Book of Condolence will also be available at the festival for visitors to share their reflections of the Queen and her extraordinary life.

The festival has also amended the name - to the Kindness Fest - to emphasise the original purpose and ethos of the event, which is taking place in Newtown’s Town Hall Grounds this Saturday between 11am and 3pm.

Councillor Joy Jones, who had the idea for the event, said: “I have been absolutely amazed by the kindness of local organisations, businesses and residents who have donated items for Saturday.

"Some of this is in the form of free food – and time – and some of it is in the shape of gifts for a free raffle. We hope that the Kindness Fest will be an event where the people in the area will be able to come together to remember Queen Elizabeth II and also receive some support from the Newtown community.”

Councillor Jones, who is county councillor for Newtown East, added: “We thought long and hard about whether we should cancel the event in the light of Her Majesty’s passing and it was a very difficult decision but on balance we felt that it was right to go ahead and provide that support for people who have been going through a very hard time in recent years.”

The two minutes' silence will take place near the gates to the Town Hall Grounds at 11am and will be led by the Reverend Nia Wyn Morris.

The festival is being sponsored by Powys Together, the North Powys Wellbeing Programme and Newtown and Llanllwchaiarn Town Council and is being organised and supported by a range of different organisations and led by Jo Hughes and Donna Jenkins of Powys Together.

Jo Hughes said: “Thanks to the amazing generosity of the community we’ll be offering a free hog roast (and vegetarian alternative) free tea and cake and free ice-cream although this will be on a ‘while stocks last’ basis. There will also be a free raffle, DJ performances from young people from Newtown Creative Stuff, an open mic session for local musicians and performances from singer-songwriter Tommy Mills and Angel Voice Singing School’s Cathy Beech and a singing session with Charlotte Woodford. There will also be two bouncy castles and lots of opportunities to take part in sports and bushcraft activities.”