THE castle town of Framlingham could start up its own festival as part of a growing summer entertainment package.A town councillor has been in talks with Wingfield Arts, which has run a successful outdoor musical event at Framlingham Castle through four weekends in July and August for the past eight years, about the idea of a Framlingham Festival.

THE castle town of Framlingham could start up its own festival as part of a growing summer entertainment package.

A town councillor has been in talks with Wingfield Arts, which has run a successful outdoor musical event at Framlingham Castle through four weekends in July and August for the past eight years, about the idea of a Framlingham Festival.

The plans are still in their early stages, and talks are ongoing.

If anything does go ahead this year, it is likely to be low-key, and two possible events would be a touring company version of Henry V, and a local talent showcase.

A historical walk through the town, which could be rounded off with an evening meal, has also been proposed as part of a potential events line-up.

Separate from the proposed festival, there are also plans for a summer fun day in June on the town's Pageant Field, following on from the success of the town's fireworks night. Any money raised would go towards the fireworks night.

"I had an idea last summer that it would be nice to have a Framlingham Festival," explained Judy Masters, chair of Framlingham town council's public relations and markets committee.

"This year it will be very low key, very small. Nothing has been agreed yet. Everything is purely and simply at the negotiation stage."

They were hoping such an event might attract grant support from Suffolk Coastal District Council and the Lottery's Awards for All.

"I would hope it would raise the profile to a certain extent," said Mrs Masters. "Framlingham is the sort of town which has everything going for it."

But everything was "very much exploratory" this year, she said.

The date of the proposed festival has been pencilled in for the week beginning July 21.

The town council will be invited to support the proposal for a Framlingham Festival at its meeting on Friday .

Meanwhile a separate summer fun day event for the town is being proposed for June 21. It is hoped it would kick off with a marathon in aid of charity, followed by entertainments such as tug-of-war, and possibly finishing with a concert evening featuring local bands.

Emma Lister, general manager at Wingfield Arts, a charity promoting arts education and development in East Anglia, pointed out that their series of concerts attracted about 5,000 people to the town.

Their role would be to support the festival in whatever way they could, she explained.

"It's about the people of Framlingham hosting something that's fabulous for them and also for the visitors to Framlingham," she said.