SETTLE'S fifth annual storytelling festival will be staged this weekend.

Running from tomorrow until Sunday, the festival includes 43 events, many of which are free.

“The festival is a chance to indulge in extraordinary stories, music, science and ideas,” said director Sita Brand.

Highlights include performances by folk punk band Holy Moly and The Crackers, "King of Things" Adrian Beckingham, 21st century fool Jonathan Kay and seventh generation Appalachian storyteller Jerry Harmon.

There will also be the chance to make a space ship in the garden of the Friends Meeting House, enjoy a trip on a revolving lifeboat and listen to a talk by Hannah Earnshaw and Ryan McDonald, who plan to join a one-way mission to Mars and settle on the planet.

For more information, visit settlestories.org. uk