ONE of the county’s longest-running festivals is preparing for its 47th event.

Originally set up as a small event to raise money for community groups, Towersey Festival now attracts up to 10,000 people and takes over most of the village near Thame.

The festival starts on Thursday and continues until Bank Holiday Monday, August 29.

It has an emphasis on folk, attracting stars in the folk world such as Bellowhead in previous years.

Billy Bragg is headlining this year.

Organiser Joe Heap said: “It’s not just a festival for people who enjoy music, but for local people to get involved.”

There are 450 different events going on over the weekend, including a separate children’s festival featuring four kids’ venues.

Quirky touches include a resident poet who will create poetry inspired by the event, which raises thousands for local groups. Mr Heap said: “While we are on a greenfield site, there are events in the church, the hall, and the pub, so it really takes over the village.”

People can go for the fullweekend experience and buy an £112 season ticket, or just a £7 pass to the showground.

It is also possible to buy tickets for some of the headline acts, this year including Oysterband, Demon Barbers and The Burns Unit.

Mr Heap said: “We appeal first and foremost to families. We go to enormous lengths to make sure children are well catered for.”

This year some big festivals have struggled, with the firm behind Steventon’s Truck Festival going into liquidation.

But Mr Heap said: “We are selling ahead of where we were at this time last year, which we are thrilled about"