In my excitement at the fact that musicians were coming from Tennessee and Mississippi to play in Hitchin, I completely forgot to give you the date! It’s an age thing!

Well, the superbly named and supremely talented legendary blues musician James ‘Super Chikan’ Johnson will be playing the marquee at Hitchin Priory on Thursday, August 31 – and tickets are on sale now, £15 each from us at 1A Churchyard, the information shop and box office opposite the war memorial.

And so to the final weekend of Hitchin Festival, with the Local Produce & Crafts Market along the riverside from 8am, FitFest on the Market Place from 10am featuring demonstrations, activities and advice stalls to keep you fit and healthy, and the Herts Affordable Art Fair at the Sun Hotel from 10am to 6pm, with over 40 artists across a variety of art forms including glass, jewellery, ceramics, mixed media as well as paintings.

There’s also Books, Beer and Banter – a literary festival of talks, workshops, book signings and sales at The British Schools Museum in Queen Street from noon until 6pm.

And in the evening, Farley’s Hair Salon sponsors a jazz and blues evening at Club 85 in Whinbush Road, featuring one of the UK’s finest performers of the genre in TJ Johnson.

Sunday, July 30, is the festival’s very last day – and during the day, Benslow Music host their family open day and garden party with food and craft stalls, licensed bar and live music throughout the day.

There’s a wonderful opportunity to explore the buildings and facilities and enjoy the beautiful grounds from 10am to 5pm.

The finale party takes place at the town hall at 7.30pm – with top tribute band the Rolling Stones Now creating a great atmosphere to mark the completion of another successful festival. Supporting will be local favourite songstress Lily Norman.

There’s a licensed bar – tickets are £10 and doors open at 7pm. I hope to see many of you there.

Hitchin Festival committee would like to thank all those who organised events, the performers, and all of you who supported and look forward to 2018.

Anyone interested in sponsoring or organising an event for next year should in the first instance contact Hitchin Festival c/o info@hitchinherts.com.

But of course it doesn’t all end with the end of Hitchin Festival – much still remains.

Street Food Monthly, a Royal Air Force promotion, Hitchin Market’s car show, Hermitage Road Day and Herts Air Ambulance Acrobatics Day are all to come in August, with our Food & Drink weekend kicking off September. Stay tuned!

You can give Keith a call on 01462 453335 or email him at info@hitchinherts.com. You can also follow the Hitchin BID on Twitter using the handle @hitchinbid