A TWO-week festival celebrating Richmond’s Georgian heritage kicks off this Saturday.

GeorgeFest offers a wide range of events and activities from gin tasting and bell-ringing to theatrical community performances and ghost walks all celebrating the North Yorkshire town’s rich Georgian history.

Many of the events are free and this year’s festival builds upon the success of the previous two events which attracted hordes of visitors.

Lynda Powell, chair of the Welcome to Richmond Group and director of the Green Howards Museum, said: “We hope that as many people as possible will come to Richmond during the festival which offers an incredibly diverse and fascinating programme,”

Festival leaflets have been distributed and full event details are at www.richmond.org