The rain held off for most of Sunday, September 8, for a fun-filled kick-off to Wycombe Celebrates, a new food, music, and arts festival in the town centre.

The event, organised by Buckinghamshire Council’s WhizzFizz and partners, saw stalls, entertainers and exhibitions descend on the High Street between 10am and 4pm on Sunday.

Families from near and far were invited, free of charge, to enjoy performances from local musicians, theatre groups and storytellers – and try their hand at printmaking, bag designing and a raft of other art and craft workshops.

Attendees also explored two exhibitions running this month in conjunction with Wycombe Celebrates – the sustainably-focused Revive and Thrive visual arts show at the Wheatsheaf Inn and international calligrapher Razwan Baig’s Islamic Art showcase at The Guildhall.

Other highlights of the packed festival schedule were a diverse range of food and drink stalls from around the world, a photography exhibit of Old Wycombe, also at the Wheatsheaf, and a ‘Come Sing and Celebrate’ sing-along at All Saints Church.

Wycombe Celebrates was supported by a grant from the Rothschild Foundation and £15,000 of funding from the High Wycombe Community Board.

Clive Harriss, Buckinghamshire Council’s Cabinet Member for Culture and Leisure, described it as “a huge celebration of all things Wycombe (which) shines a wonderful light on the town”.