PREPARATIONS are under way for the Edgworth Real Ale festival, set to run from Friday, September 27 to Sunday, September 29.

There will be live entertainment from The Witnesses as well as 68 different beers and ciders, a wide selection of wine, and pasties and pies provided by Allen’s Bakery and Hunters.

The festival will be held at the Barlow Memorial Institute in the town from 5pm to 11pm on the Friday, noon-11pm on the Saturday and noon-4pm on the Sunday.

It will be the seventh annual Edgworth Ale Festival, after a small group of real ale enthusiasts arranged the first in 2006.

Since then, the event has helped to raise more than £50,000.

This year’s chosen charities are Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research, dedicated to improving the lives of patients with all types of blood cancer, including leukaemia, lymphoma and myeloma; and the Motor Neurone Disease Association, which is the only national charity in England, Wales and Northern Ireland that funds and promotes global research into the disease and provides support for people affected.

Admission to the real ale festival is £4, and £1 on Sunday, with all proceeds going to the chosen charities.