A free festival celebrating a major river running through the county is set to be in full swing for six days this month.

Preparations for Canterbury’s Great Stour Riverfest are currently underway and, according organisers, some event tickets have already sold out.

The celebration of all things water will kick off on Saturday, September 14, in the city’s Westgate Gardens.

Stalls and activities will be set up in the park between 10am and 4pm, with guests encouraged to bring picnics.

Kent Wildlife Trust and the Kentish Stour Countryside Partnership will be among the organisations to help educate guests on the waterway.

“I am really excited about this year’s festival, and with so many sell-outs it proves people living in the district are too,” said the council’s cabinet member for biodiversity and open spaces, Cllr Mel Dawkins.

“They really cherish the river and its impact on the city.

“Please make the most of the free events on offer to learn about our river and take advantage of everything it has to offer.

“After a successful event last year, I am so pleased to see it growing and evolving.”

Entries are also open for young people aged four to 15 for the Children’s Art Competition on the theme of The River Stour And Its Wildlife.

Those wishing to enter must submit their artwork to the Beaney House of Art and Knowledge information desk by Monday, September 9, and could win a riverboat tour.

The six-day festival aims to both celebrate local waterways and educate people on their importance, as well as being an enjoyable day out in the city.

On Friday, September 20, St Peter’s Methodist Church will host ‘An Evening Of Illustrated Talks On The Great Stour’s Plant Life And Mammals’ at which ethnobotanist Hallie Bryant Rounthwaite and ecologist and conservationist Hazel Ryan will deliver presentations.

This event will be first-come-first-served so reservations are required to ensure a seat.

The River Stour flows through Kent into the North Sea at Pegwell Bay, passing through Canterbury, Ashford and Sandwich.

Above Plucks Gutter, where it is joined by the Little Stour, the river is known as the Great Stour.