From headline music acts to thought-provoking talks and art and family-friendly fun, the Canterbury Festival will be bringing a buzz to the city for a fortnight.

The county's biggest international arts festival, which has more than 200 theatre, comedy, music and art events, opens on Saturday, October 20 with a day of free fun in the city centre, including making pottery and live music, plus a parade through the streets along the High Street and into Whitefriars from noon to 1pm.

At 2pm, head to the Festival Spiegeltent for a family-friendly afternoon of Baby Loves Disco, with facepainting and dressing up and a licensed bar for the grown-ups.

Throughout the festival, students and staff from Canterbury School of Visual Arts at Canterbury College (CSVA), in partnership with the Canterbury Journey, will be creating the centenary of the end of the First World War with a large-scale wooden War Horse in the precincts of Canterbury Cathedral. Its head will be bowed in respect, facing oncoming visitors and made from recycled materials.

Headline acts include, on opening night, The Christians, playing the Festival Spiegeltent, on Saturday, October 20. With a new album Sings & Strings, the group took the pop world by storm in the late 80s and 90s, and their version of Harvest for the World raised millions for Unicef.

They will be followed by The Feeling - touring for the first time in more than two years and 12 years after the release of their celebrated million-selling album Twelve Stops and Home. They play the Marlowe Theatre on Sunday, October 21.

Credited as being the first British country act to have a Top 10 album and the first to receive an award from the American Country Music Association, The Shires play the Marlowe Theatre on Thursday, October 25.

Brother Wolf's Magic Circle presents a full-length dramatic work for theatre by renowned novelist Kim Newman and starring James Hyland at St Mary's Hall Studio Theatre on Saturday, October 20.

And anthropologist and broadcaster Alice Roberts uncovers the deep history of our relationship with dogs and how becoming part of our world changed them in a fascinating talk on Monday, October 22 at

Shirley Hall, the King’s School.

Flying violins and speed skating ballerinos come to the Marlowe Theatre with Släpstick, an the award-winning ode to the timeless comedy of Charlie Chaplin, the Marx Brothers and Laurel & Hardy on tour for the first time and coming to Canterbury on Tuesday, October 23. Five world-class performers from the Netherlands, who between them have mastered more than 100 instruments, perform a collection of musical and comedy acts rooted in the slapstick tradition but with a modern twist.

Next week brings the chance to hear from a cameraman on a TV programme which has changed the way many of us think about the world and brought about a global move against plastic in our oceans.

On Saturday, October 27 Blue Planet wildlife cameraman Doug Allan shares his stories and images from the wildest places on earth. He has been working as a cameraman for 35 years on Blue Planet, Frozen Planet, Planet Earth and other landmark television series. Hear firsthand about the challenges and triumphs of capturing images of wildlife in some of the world’s harshest environments in his talk illustrated by his own photographs, at Shirley Hall in The King’s School.

Music star Sophie Ellis-Bextor will be performing at the Marlowe Theatre on Saturday, October 27. The Brit Award nominated singer, songwriter, model and Strictly star performs at 7.30pm.

DETAILS

The Canterbury Festival runs from Saturday, October 20 and Saturday, November 3 at venues in and around Canterbury. To find out more and book tickets go to canterburyfestival.co.uk or call 01227 787787.

An independent charity, it brings a rich mixture of performing arts from around the world each year.