THERE will be dancing in the streets of Corbridge as the village is set to congregate for its busiest community event during the summer.

The annual Midsummer’s Evening, held on the Thursday nearest the longest day of the year, returns this week with various activities scheduled.

As is the case for the village’s Christmas shopping event, most of the shops will extend their opening hours to 9pm.

There will be plenty of live music provided by the likes of the Ragtime Rascals and Haydon Bridge High School’s Sunshine Panners, with Hexham Morris Men and Hexhamshire Lasses and Jive Alive performing dance routines in the heart of the village.

Alpacas will be situated in the grounds of St Andrew’s Church, while entertainment aimed solely at children will include face painting and balloon artists.

Visitors to the Market Place will also be challenged with the task of finding 24 peg doll fairies hidden in shop windows throughout the village.

Street food stalls and market stalls will be in attendance, while a craft attic has been added to the line-up for the first time to allow the more creative guests the chance to get hands-on.

The Midsummer Evening coincides with the start of the four-day St Andrew’s Church Flower Festival, which will run until 9pm on Thursday.

Liz Hagger, secretary and treasurer of event organisers Visit Corbridge, said: “There’s a lot going on and it’s just a good event where people pull together.

“There has been an event at the beginning of December for Christmas for decades so we thought why don’t we have one in the summer as well.”

Due to limited spaces, people attending the event are being advised to park at the nearby Tynedale Rugby Club, on Station Road, where shuttle buses will transfer them to and from the village centre.