EVERYTHING from creating the perfect paper plane to playing retro games on a giant community-made video screen will be on offer in Blackburn in May.

Visitors to the to the first National Festival of Making will also be able to stitch their part of a historic ‘time capsule’ quilt.

Organisers have given the first details of activities on Saturday May 6 and Sunday May 7.

The first national celebration of its kind, the free family festival promises visitors inspiring opportunities to try things they’ve never tried before in a wide range of workshops and activities.

Founded by BBC Great British Sewing Bee judge Patrick Grant, the Community Clothing label will opens its Lord Street West shop to offer the chance to stitch and sew in a quilt-making project.

Other activities include combining ancient metalwork skills contemporary inspiration to design pewter jewellery with expert maker, Ella McIntosh.

'Folding Table: Forming Paper Planes' in Blackburn's Town Hall Square will give visitors the opportunity to

work with artist David Boultbee putting their skills to the test on one of the world’s classic designs – the paper aeroplane.

There will be a chance to print posters carrying messages of hometown pride with forward-thinking letterpress studio, 'Print for Love of Wood'.

Blackburn’s Making Rooms will welcome anyone willing to help build a giant ‘pixel window’ which, when complete, will host retro video games and visitor-designed pixel art.

For 'foodies', there is the opportunity to not only start the process by planting seeds in a Newground pop-up allotment, but finish the job by baking their own wood-fired pizza in the garden of The Bureau arts centre.

Built in 1863, but closed since 2005, Blackburn’s grand Cotton Exchange opens for hard-hat tours over the weekend giving a glimpse of the town’s architectural heritage and its restoration.

Elena Gifford, Co-Director of The Festival of Making, said: “One of the main aims of The National Festival of Making is to inspire people to find out what aspects of making they could be good at and enjoy by having a go themselves.

"The range of workshops with now confirmed, with more to follow, shows that there’s going to be something in the festival experience for everyone, whether they’re a three-year old interested in getting messy with paint and glue, a young person interested in the principles of filmmaking or a grown-up curious about hi-tech product design techniques.”