The organisers behind this year’s Letchworth Food and Garden Festival are hoping to make the 2015 helping bigger and better by involving the community as much as possible.

Letchworth Town Centre Partnership is looking to make the town centre festival – which takes place on May 16 and 17 – the standout event of the year, along with the Christmas lights show.

Love Letchworth business executive director Kailah Eglington said: “We want to get more and more of the community involved in the festival.

“We really want to drive the garden aspect as there is such a fantastic and diverse offering in Letchworth.

“We will have a celebrity chef and apple pressing as some of the highlights, but we want it to be as community-orientated as possible.”

Love Letchworth operations director James Peachey said: “We have a full calendar, but we want to make the most of our two big events – the Food and Garden Festival and the Christmas Lights.

“There is the challenge of where to hold the summer festival, with the building work at Garden Square which should be during the summer months, but we plan to deliver a truly fantastic event that thousands will be able to enjoy.”

North Herts District Council has awarded a grant of £2,500 towards the cost of putting on the festival.

Councillor Lorna Kercher, chairman of North Herts District Council’s Letchworth area committee, said: “The event attracts a large number of visitors to the town centre which is great for the town’s economy and we hope that this year it will attract even more visitors.”