QUEEN Mother Square in Poundbury will be packed with the county’s finest produce and artistic talent as the popular Dorset Festival returns this weekend.

The annual event is being held on Saturday from 9am to 9pm with a vast array of local food, drink, creative arts and music on offer.

First held in 2012, previous festivals have attracted thousands of visitors and organisers are hoping for another bumper turnout this time round.

The festival will be formally opened bt television chef Lesley Waters. who has her own cookery school in Dorset, at 10am.

She will also give the first demonstration in the Dorset Farmers Market mobile kitchen.

Other top local chefs demonstrating on the day include James Holding from The Pig on the Beach at Studland, Matt Budden from the Highcliff Grill at Bournemouth’s Marriott Hotel and Brett Sutton from The White Post near Sherborne.

There will also be appearances from Mark Hartstone from La Fosse at Cranborne and Lee Moreton from the Dorset Charcuterie Co and there will be a return of the popular cook-off between three Dorset chefs.

Visitors will also be able to enjoy a whole host of stalls offering Dorset’s finest food and drink while there will be live music throughout the day and a jazz concert in the evening.

Among those performing will be soprano Charlotte Hewitt, who sang at the first Dorset Festival in 2012, and the Mill Street Jazz Band, The festival will again raise funds for the Weldmar Hospicecare Trust and will also support Artstreach, Dorset Farmers Markets and the Steve Charles Help A Friend Fund.

The Duchy of Cornwall’s estate director for Poundbury Simon Conibear said festival goers will also be able to witness the latest developments happening at Poundbury’s ‘commercial heart’.

He said: “Visitors this year will notice the transformation of the square, with a new backdrop of magnificent buildings designed by Quinlan and Francis Terry and Ben Pentreath, giving Poundbury its commercial heart, and Dorchester an exciting new space.

“Work is well advanced on the Duchess of Cornwall, a new inn on the square opening early next year, Strathmore House, with its shops and grand apartments, and Royal Pavilion, with its health spa to open in 2017.

“We are promising a grand day out for all ages and tastes.”

For more information visit dorsetfestival.org