FOLK Weekend Oxford, a highlight of the city's cultural calendar, is this year set to be better than ever with events tailored for those with special needs and disabilities.

The festival, which takes place from Friday to Sunday, will feature folk legend Martin Carthy, Kathryn Roberts, Sean Lakeman, Emily Portman and Coope, Boyes and Simpson.

Thousands of folk music fans will see the city centre taken over by music and dance, with impromptu sing-alongs in a variety of venues and free events staged for children in the Pitt Rivers Museum, plus a new event for people with special needs.

Festival director Cat Kelly said: "The festival is a big community event.

"Although mostly rooted in folk, acoustic, singer-songwriters and world music, there is pretty much something for everyone to come along and enjoy.

"It’s not the kind of thing you bring your kids along to and then they sit around getting bored – nor something you have to drag children to because there’s nothing for them to do."

Oxford has hosted a folk festival for many years, and this is the fifth year an event has been staged by the current organisers.

This year Special Saturday will run events for people of all ages with special needs and disabilities.

They include Pete Ord's inclusive music-making workshop in St Columba's Church Hall where the musician explore some of the different ways that technology can be used to help people with special needs to enjoy making music.

This community-based, volunteer-run festival forged links with the local Special Educational Needs community, leading to their first SEN schools ceilidh in 2013, which has expanded to four ceilidhs over two days this year.

Ms Kelly added: "We know that events like ours can feel quite overwhelming if a member of your family has special needs or a disability, so we are trying to make it as easy as possible for anyone to attend.

"The folk music scene is generally very inclusive, but it's really important that we reach out to people who can feel excluded and make sure that they know that.

"We hope Special Saturday will help people to feel welcome at Folk Weekend Oxford, and give them the confidence to try something new."

The main backdrop of the festival will be the Wesley Memorial Church, with St Barnabas Church in Jericho will be ceilidh central.

Weekend season tickets are £62 (£57 concessions), day season tickets start at £28.

Tickets for individual events are also available.

For further infomation visit folkweekendoxford.co.uk