An exciting celebration of the arts, inspired by the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, starts today (Thursday).

Organised by the Gravesend and District Theatre Guild, the Guild Gravesham Fringe Festival promises guests the chance to “be creative and experience creativity”.

From today until Saturday, August 17, it will showcase an array of Kent-based acts and artists, while raising money for local good causes.

Funds will be donated to mental health charity North Kent Mind, Hextable-based disabled children’s charity We Are Beams and Medway Autism Group and Information Centre (MAGIC).

Visitors can enjoy everything from children’s shows, concerts and talks to workshops, magic and writing at the festival, which will take place at The Guild Theatre in Vale Road, Northfleet.

It includes a one-man show by actor and writer Paul Doust, who has worked on EastEnders and Holby City scripts.

The community event is the brainchild of the theatre’s deputy chair, Gemma Dand, who has worked day and night to put together a line up showcasing the huge depth of local talent.

Gemma said: “I believe that having the opportunity to be creative and experience creativity is extremely important for wellbeing and developing life skills.

“As someone who’s been fortunate enough to write my own work and stage it at the theatre, I wanted to give other people the same opportunities without having to fork out a fortune.

“I therefore decided that a fringe event could benefit both the theatre and the community.”

She hopes the festival will become an annual affair and attract future members to the theatre, which many people “aren’t even aware exists”.

She added: “Aiming to be as inclusive as possible, the theatre decided to not charge any acts performing, instead working on a 50/50 box office split, with acts choosing their own ticket prices between £1 and £10.

“We wanted to make it affordable and on average the majority of ticket prices are between £5 and £7.”

n For details and to book, visit gravesendtheatreguild.org. Follow the festival on Facebook @GravesendGuildFringeFest or @Guildfringefest on Twitter.