ENTRIES are welcomed for the forthcoming Darlington Festival for Performing Arts.

The festival, which has County Durham-born actor and director Mark Gatiss as its president, is holding its annual competitions in March.

The music section will be held on Saturday, March 5, with speech and drama the following Saturday, all at Hummersknott School.

The festival welcomes entries from schools, private individuals and private tutors.

A copy of the entry form can be obtained from the respective festival secretaries: for music, email trevor@dfpa.co and for speech and drama email andrea@dfpa.co.

The closing date for entries is January 18.

Full details and a copy of the syllabus can be found on the festival website – dfpa.co.

The fstival which was originally called Darlington Competitive Musical Festival, has existed since 1932.

Its aim is to encourage people of all ages to embrace the performing arts, which is comprised of three artistic disciplines, music, speech and drama and dance.

A spokeswoman for the event said: "The festival is regarded as a 'friendly' festival, but in the current economic climate, it is a struggle to keep going and to keep costs down.

"So if there is any individual or local business who think that they may be able to give us their support in the form of patronage or sponsorship, however small, we would be very grateful."

Anyone interested in supporting the event can call the festival's honorary secretary Linda Lawson, on 01325-312883, or email linda@dfpa.co