There's less than one week to go before a first-of-a-kind festival highlighting mental health comes to Bridport.

Bridport Mind Fest, organised by the Hughes Unit Group Supporters (HUGS), will kick off on Thursday (Oct5) and run until October 10, coinciding with World Mental Health Day.

The festival, in its first year, will see a huge variety of workshops take place at locations across the town.

Organisers say all sessions will be welcoming and inclusive, with limited numbers so everyone can join in. You don’t need any previous knowledge or experience.

Workshops will cover topics including the impact of drugs and alcohol on families, awareness and support for those without families, the difficulties of stigma surrounding mental health and the profound impact on society of depression.

Activities will include dance, puppet-making, yoga, cartoon drawing, creative writing, photography and well-being, and mental health first-aid.

You can model your thoughts in clay, listen to and write poems and express your thoughts and stresses through cartoons.

Mind Fest appears to have the backing of the community, having raised £6,000 through a crowdfunding campaign to go-ahead.

Young people in the area have been onboard with organising and supporting the event - the Minerva Learning Trust Choir will perform in the Arts Centre during the festival and children from all schools in Bridport’s Minerva Learning Trust have created posters that focus on issues around healthy minds.

There are, therefore, many events aimed at children, as well as adults, throughout the six-day festival, including puppet-making, clay as a creative medium and a Sunday morning creative workshop with a showing of Disney’s ‘Inside Out’ in the afternoon.

Children's art will be on display at the Arts Centre in the theatre.

The festival has the support of many local businesses, with venues such as Bridport Arts Centre, the Lyric Theatre, Chapel in the Garden, Bridport Leisure Centre and more, having offered help. Workshop leaders, artists, performers and volunteers have given their services.

Tickets for all workshops are free and are going fast.

They are available from the Bridport Tourist Information Centre on South Street, Bucky Doo Square.

For more information and a full events programme, visit bridportmindfest.org