Andover’s premier youth festival and music extravaganza are teaming up this year with a joint fair in town.

A-Fest and Andover Rocks will be hosting a series of stalls and events across town at the start of September following the easing of Covid rules. There will be live performances, activities and showcases as they both return in person.

Katherine Bird, from A-Fest, told the Advertiser: “This is the first time in two years that organisations have got the chance to physically talk to people face-to-face and show them what they have to offer.

“As we go back into the Autumn term and parents are looking for new clubs, it’s a chance for organisations to increase their memberships and as ever, to showcase the amount of awesome stuff there is in Andover.”

A-Fest was launched in 2015, and since then has showcased a range of opportunities for five to 18-year-olds in and around Andover. Meanwhile, Andover Rocks is a charity that for s number of years has used live music as part of interventions in adult mental health.

Both events are normally flagships in and around the high street, but both have been forced to alter their plans following the Covid-19 pandemic. Andover Rocks went on hiatus, while A-Fest was first postponed, and then put online, for the past two years.

A variety of music, demonstrations, organisations, and businesses were shown online, with a mix of live streaming and pre-recorded films organised by Katherine, Cat Randle and Dmitrijs Meiksans MYP back for 2021’s event.

The events are now both returning to the high street, with Katherine adding: “A-Fest has always been in the High Street, so it is wonderful to be back in the town centre.”

While A-Fest will have stalls in the Town Mills Riverside Park from 10-3 on Saturday, September 4, Andover Rocks will have a rolling series of events across the town, including in the White Hart, SP Bar and Rock House from September 3-5.

Businesses and organisations are still able to apply for a stall at A-Fest, and can do so by contacting chattogethercic@gmail.com, while Andover Rocks tickets can be found here: https://www.andover-rocks.co.uk/event-details/andover-rocks-1