A town’s arts festival known for showcasing talent from across East Anglia has been relaunched.

StowFest will change its name this year to StowFiesta with the organisers promising great live music, comedy, dance and more.

The event, which will kick-off on June 20, is being supported by the East Anglian Daily Times and its sister title the Stowmarket Mercury.

David Marsh is the events and theatre manager for Stowmarket Town Council which is behind the event.

He said: “We’re proud of our reputation for putting on great live music but we felt there was scope to appeal to more people, particularly families.

“Therefore, StowFiesta will feature stand-up comedy, Punch and Judy, local dance acts, circus skills, plus much more – and it’s all free.

“Stowfest was extremely popular with the region’s music lovers, so we’re not going to mess with that, but in addition to the original music stages, we’ll have a stage exclusively for cover bands and tribute acts.”

The festival, which provides charities with opportunities to fundraise and engage with the community, was originally launched in 2007.

Among the bands confirmed are East Anglian-based Ska’d 4 Life, Tallowah, East Town Pirates, Walkway, Voodoo Child and The Dirty Fairies – plus acts from further afield including funk band Mojo Jojo, from Brighton, Finding Albert, from Edinburgh and dance-rock outfit The Onironauts.

Mr Marsh added: “We’ve got some amazing bands from all over the country on the bill, plus the cream of the local music scene. There’s a great mix of original bands and covers bands to cater for everyone. We’ve also got the Amplitude Stage featuring young bands form the Amplitude project, which is always really popular.”

Charities wanting to book a free stall at StowFiesta should email sianc@stowmarket.org with details of what their stall will be providing and the cause they will be supporting.

Comedian Danny Ward, who won “Best Show” at last year’s Edinburgh Fringe will perform.

For information on the event, which runs on June 21 as well, go to StowFiesta’s Facebook page or www.stowfiesta.co.uk