ORGANISERS of the Allendale May Fair have unveiled plans for a bigger, better and stronger event this year.

The annual fair, which has been a mainstay in the Allen Valleys for three decades, was relaunched under a new committee 12 months ago.

Now, following the success of their first effort, the committee has announced changes for the latest event, which will take place over three days of the bank holiday weekend from Friday, May 25 to Sunday, May 27.

It will include a festival of music; a welcome return for the popular karaoke contest, which was notably absent last year, and the introduction of a Segway scooter course.

The strongman contest, which attracts elite competitors from across the North-East to Allendale each year, will return once again.

But this time, there will be an opportunity for amateurs to have a go at the gravity-defying challenges, and there will also be a strong woman contest.

Committee member John Hill said there would also be a wheelbarrow race at the 2018 event.

He explained: “It will still be the Allendale Fair that everybody knows and loves, but we’ve beefed it up a bit, and it’s set to be a lot of fun for children and adults alike.

“We have a very active committee and a lot of work is going on behind the scenes.

“We are all very much looking forward to it.”

Discos, karaoke and open-mic sessions will take place on the Friday evening and Saturday.

Local band Diddly Squat will headline a music festival at the fair on the Saturday afternoon, when the strong man and woman contests will also take place.

Saturday will also see around 30 stalls offering local arts, crafts, food and clothing, while there will be fairground rides, races, a climbing wall, bungee trampolining and, for the first time, a Segway course.

The wheelbarrow race is set to be the main attraction on Sunday when there will also be a raffle.