The crowds packed in to Lion Green last weekend for the Haslemere Fringe Festival.

Festival-goers were treated to a variety of acts, with the star turn being Sunday night headliner Sophie Ellis-Bextor – who entertained families across the country with her ‘Kitchen Disco’ hour of hits during the height of lockdown in 2020.

Haslemere Fringe organising committee chairman Ken Griffiths was delighted with how the weekend went. He said: “It was our best fringe ever – it was so well supported.

“It can’t happen without the volunteers. We had more than 120 volunteers throughout the weekend volunteering, and some volunteers worked five days solid with the setting up before and taking everything down afterwards. The weather was ideal for us – it was dry but not too hot or too cold.

“We had a good turnout, with more than 3,000 people on Lion Green on Saturday and Sunday, and about 1,500 people on Friday night. It is a family-friendly festival and we had something for every age, from the very young to the very old, including Punch and Judy, poetry and comedy.

“We had to cancel the fringe in 2020 because of Covid, and again in 2021, so everyone was looking forward to it.

“We had some great headliners, with Sophie Ellis-Bextor and The Feeling, but we also had some excellent young up-and-coming artists.

“For some of the youngsters it will have been their first time performing on a professional stage with a professional sound system. Who knows, they might be on the first step to becoming the next Adele.

“We’re a registered charity and Phyllis Tuckwell was our partner charity this year – and we were delighted to raise money for them.

“The next fringe festival is in 2024, and we will start our planning in September.”