CREATIVE folk are being encouraged to show their artistic sides at a festival celebrating the coming of spring.

The annual Malvern May Day Festival, organised by Malvern Fringe Arts, is in its 12th year and runs on Saturday, April 30 - this year's theme being the planets.

Organisers are holding an arts competition for all ages, with categories for best model, costume and design.

For best model, suggested ideas include spaceships, UFOs and alien life-forms and people can use old action figures or dolls as the base for figures.

Best costume is split into two sub-categories of space cadet and alien life-form, with judging before the start of the usual parade through the town's streets.

And entries for best design can be drawings, paintings, collages or other media.

Organisers have also announced Malvern celebrity inventor Dick Strawbridge - of television's Crafty Tricks of War, Geronimo and Scrapheap Challenge fame - will be judging.

He will also host a rocket workshop, showing how to build and launch rockets from plastic drinks bottles.

"It's very positive and all coming together really well," said Jem Vipond, one of the organisers.

"Mr Strawbridge is very much looking forward to taking part and we hope it'll be a fun day."

Most of the festival will be centred around Malvern's Priory Park, with music and dance acts, stalls and a bouncy castle.

There will also be a music stage in Grange Road's Malvern Theatres, a cinema tent, a caf chillout tent and costume workshop.

The next festival meeting is due to take place tonight at 8pm.

Anyone interested in attending should contact Malcolm Victory on 01684 575156.

Meanwhile, competition entries should be marked with the name, address, age and telephone number of entrants and submitted by 1pm the day before to the Malvern Fringe Arts stand.