VILLAGERS who benefit from theatre performances brought to their rural village hall are preparing to put their best foot forward for the scheme.

This year, Highlights Rural Touring Scheme celebrates 21 years of bringing shows to small villages across County Durham, Cumbria and Northumberland.

And to mark the anniversary and help make sure the scheme is available for years to come; its supporters are combining a fundraising hike with a birthday tea party in several village halls on June 3.

Named Hike for Highlights, ten venues including Boldron Village Hall will act as hub venues welcoming the walkers to an afternoon tea party with homemade cakes, tasty treats and live entertainment.

Other village halls on the scheme’s network will be organising walker’s groups to take up the family-friendly challenge too with walks of varying lengths before the parties start at 2pm.

A minimum suggested donation of £10 includes afternoon tea or supporters can skip the hike and enjoy the tea party for £5. For more information on visit highlightsnorth.co.uk

Through to August 2019, Highlights is part of a scheme whereby every £1 raised will be doubled by Arts Council England and will be invested in keeping performances in our villages for the next 21 years and beyond.

Holly Goodfellow, Highlights fundraiser said: “Hike for Highlights is an exciting opportunity because it gives us the chance to generate funds that will really make a change to the way we work.

"By providing a match investment for every donation we receive, the Arts Council have chosen to support performance in our region and we hope this will start to address some of the funding pressures that are hitting us and village halls across the North, ensuring that we have sustainable methods to continue to support you and local activity for years to come.”

Highlights Rural Touring Scheme has been bringing shows from national touring companies into the heart of rural villages for 21 years.

It’s a scheme that supports local promoters and subsidises performances, making them affordable for small communities and contributing to the social and economic life of the village. Highlights currently works in partnership with a network of over 75 village promoters who, for the most part, are volunteers who give their time to provide a great night out for their community.

Highlights is a registered charity and an NPO client of Arts Council England.