ABERGAVENNY Festival is hoping to make up for the disappointments of last year and once again it's offering something for everyone.

In its tenth anniversary year, the festival aims to appeal to residents and visitors alike with a packed and varied programme of events.

The popular Music In The Gardens event, which takes place at Linda Vista Gardens near the Castle Meadows, is kicked off by local jazz combo Kookatz tomorrow at 7.30pm.

The next day Abergavenny Borough Band will play at 3pm, and on Friday July 26 nine-piece Latin band Orquestra Hurracan will entertain the crowds from 8pm onwards. And from 8pm on August 2 the unlikely fusion of South American samba and Scottish folk will be brought together by Salsa Celtica. Tickets for evening performances are from £6 to £7 from the festival box office.

There will be an American Classic car show in Bailey Park this weekend and organised games for children from 2pm on Tuesday - one of the hits of last year's festival.

And there are writers' workshops throughout the fortnight dealing with writing for children, writing non-fiction and history, writing for radio and writing TV drama.

Kim Colebrook, a member of the committee organising the festival, said: "Last year we were hit by the foot-and-mouth epidemic which affected the number of visitors to the area. "We lost some events like the shire horse show because of the disease and the weather was poor so some events had to be switched to the Borough Theatre which meant attendance was lower than in Linda Vista Gardens.

"We had very little funding left but thanks to support from various sources the festival lives on. This year we have three concerts, five exhibitions, the shire horse show, six workshops and our first Welsh language events."

For more information pick up a Festival brochure or call the box office on 01873 850805. Tom Whiteley

How to get there... Abergavenny is easy to reach by road on the A40 from Monmouth, the A4042 from Newport and Pontypool or the A465 Heads of the Valleys road.

There are five public car parks around the town including parks near the Linda Vista Gardens, Bailey Park and the Tourist Information centre. Trains run on the Newport to Hereford line from Newport, Pontypool and Cwmbran and the town is clearly signposted from the station.