PLANS to put Malvern on the map with its very own new festival are set to plough ahead after organisers have secured £6,000 for the project.

Arts organisation Malvern Fringe Arts is working with the Malvern-based English Symphony Orchestra and Malvern Hills District Council to put on a series of events for the Elgar Fringe Festival, due to take place during the Elgar Festival.

And now organisers behind the Fringe Festival - which aims to honour renowned Worcestershire composer Sir Edward Elgar - are over the moon after securing a £5,000 grant from the National Lottery and £1,000 from arts charity The Elmley Foundation.

Organisers hope to raise the remaining cash from ticket sales, fund-raising and advertising. Fringe arts chairman Tim Cranmore said: "Obviously we're very pleased because it means we can now advertise the event properly and talk with professionals about getting involved which we thought we might not otherwise have been able to. It's also good for Malvern Fringe because it means we've now made three successful applications to the lottery - the two others being for recorder festivals." Mr Cranmore said work was now steadily progressing on arrangements for the festival - which runs from Thursday, June 1 to Saturday, June 3.

A bicycle race up the town's famous slopes - as Elgar was a keen cyclist himself - is on the cards, with an acoustic music night in a tent in the town's Priory Park also planned.

The London-based Blue Boat Theatre Company will be putting on children's theatre workshops and storytelling and pupils from the area's schools are set to produce murals for display in the town.

And Malvern's TG's Skate Group is set to hold a skating event, while there will also be a cabaret night, craft stalls and lunchtime concerts, among other activities. Mr Cranmore said the aim of the festival was to involve the wider community by putting on something for everyone. He added: "Malvern doesn't really have many festivals like Upton-upon-Severn or Worcester and it shouldn't be a quiet, sleepy place.

"It should have plenty of activities going on and we're hoping this will bring fresh life into the place."

Meanwhile the Elgar Festival, organised by the ESO, runs from Tuesday, May 30 to Saturday, June 3 and features concerts and talks on the composer at venues in Worcester and Malvern. For more information on the Elgar Fringe Festival call Mr Cranmore on 01684 563313.v