ORGANISERS of an increasingly popular festival are looking for volunteers to help with next year’s event.

Harwich Festival of the Arts will be returning next year from June 21 to July 1.

The annual festival hosts a variety of musical and dramatic performances as well as a mixture of artistic exhibitions for Harwich.

A key part of the festival is the series of exhibitions and installations of textile art, paintings, photography, sculptures and prints around the town.

Next year’s festival will see the return of the popular 20cm by 20cm show – an open exhibition where anyone can submit a artwork, and it can be about any theme.

All works that are entered will be accepted and shown as long as they measure 20cm x 20cm. Previous exhibitions have attracted approximately 500 entries from the wider community. Organisers are looking for volunteers to join them in assembling these exhibitions.

A Harwich Festival spokesman said: “Perhaps you have just moved to the area or have just retired and would like to meet like-minded people.

“You may have finished your education and be looking for a new experience to expand your CV as previous volunteers have done.”

Tasks for volunteers will include preparing display boards, helping hand exhibitions, stewarding and many other way of supporting the festival.

Roger Hamer, visual arts co-ordinator for the Harwich Festival, said: “The Harwich Festival visual arts section has been expanding over the recent years.

“We now offer two large exhibitions of paintings, prints and sculptures, urban textiles, textile art exhibition, photography, short film making and window art.

“We want to involve many different creative practitioners and make the Festival as inclusive as possible. It’s fun it’s inspiring and satisfying.”

For more information about the volunteering roles, email Michael Offord on michael.offord@harwichfestival.co.uk or visit the Harwich Box Office based at Harwich Library.