THE organisers of Blackburn's third annual National Festival of Making have appealed for volunteers to help run it.

They are looking for more than 100 unpaid assistants to lend a hand at events and workshops and act as tour guides on the weekend of June 15 and 16.

The festival stretches right across Blackburn's town centre and Cathedral Quarter with have-a-go workshops, food stalls, performances, art exhibits, markets, music and other attractions.

Last year more than 100 volunteers helped 40,000 visitors enjoy the weekend.

Martin Eden, director of environment at Blackburn with Darwen Council which sponsors the event, said: “The National Festival of Making is a fantastic event with a packed programme of events.

“A huge amount of work goes into organising it each year and volunteers play a really important part in making sure the weekend is a huge success.

“People can help in lots of different ways and they can commit to just a couple of hours over the weekend or volunteer across the two full days.

“It’s a really good experience and we offer full training, will help with the cost of travel expenses and there’s a free lunch up for grabs for all those who sign-up.”

The volunteers, known as Festival Makers, will be invited to a training session and will be given a National Festival of Making t-shirt.

To sign-up to be involved go to: www.festivalofmaking.co.uk/about/volunteer