Suz Elvey

suz.elvey@KRNmedia.co.uk

FAVERSHAM Hop Festival is having a third of its funding cut.

The 20-year-old hop fest is getting £6,000 from Swale Borough Council this year, but councillors are slicing £2,000 off next year's budget.

Organisers are now appealing for sponsorship to secure the future of the festival, which attracts about 20,000 visitors.

This year's event, next Saturday and Sunday, September 4 and 5, will feature the usual mix of music, street entertainment, stalls and a steam train, all celebrating Faversham's hop-picking history.

Three outdoor stages will be set up and there will be a host of gigs around town.

Playing on the Spitfire Stage, among other acts, will be The Faversham Mission Brass Band, American folk clog dancers Tanglefoot, Kent folk band Selkie , Belgium acoustic folk and Celtic group Faran Flad and various morris dancing sides.

The Preston Street Stage plays host to country, blues and cajun band Redeye, Faversham rock band Elbert Felc and Green Diesel, also from Faversham, playing high energy folk, funk, jazz and rock.

On the Shepherd Neame-sponsored Brewery Stage will be Kent folk-rockers Hot Rats, funk rock band Jam Sandwich and Fat River Band, playing country and rock. The festival opens at 10.30am on Saturday, and there is a procession on Sunday at 11am.

Shepherd Neame's Spitfire steam train will travel from London Bridge Station to Faversham and then back via the Kent coast on Sunday, retracing the route hop-pickers once took.

Organiser Martin Young said people would be visiting from all over the world and encouraged all pubs, businesses and residents to get involved.

To find out more about The Faversham Hop Festival on Saturday and Sunday, September 4 and 5, go to www.thehopfestival.com or see one of the free leaflets distributed throughout Faversham and in Shepherd Neame pubs.

For details about the Spitfire steam train and Shepherd Neame meals and tours call 01795 542285 or visit www.shepherd neame.co.uk.

ABOUT £40,000 is needed to make sure there is a Faversham Hop Festival in 2011.

Visitors will be asked to hand over spare cash into collection buckets and organisers say every penny counts.

Swale Council spokesman Mark Janes said the decision to cut funding was due to a review on how festivals and events were supported and to "ensure value for money for the council tax payer".

For more information or to make a donation e-mail: m-long@ btconnect.com