A BOROUGH-wide event to celebrate arts and culture, and inspire residents and visitors is edging ever closer, with more people getting involved.

The year-long festival of events, led by and for the community, Test Valley Borough of Culture 2020, is aiming to celebrate the people, places, heritage and culture of Test Valley.

Organised by Test Valley Arts Foundation, the festival hopes to make the arts and culture accessible for everyone, and artists, culture chiefs and choir members have already jumped on board to showcase their work in unusual and interesting ways.

From workshops to music festivals, competitions to art trails and plays, the programme aims to represent a diverse range of organisations and connect with people of all ages and backgrounds across the region.

One flagship activity that will take place is a video tapestry where parishes in the borough will be invited to create a two minute video entitled ‘A local’s guide to...’, based on the Test Valley Tapestry created in 1983.

It is also expected to recognise the rich variety of cultural events and activities already taking place in the region, the Borough of Culture programme will celebrate and promote those events and help artists and performers to reach new audiences.

Yinnon Ezra MBE, chairman of Test Valley Arts Foundation said: “Our vision is to inspire creativity, innovation, joy, emotion and expression everywhere!”

The festival is also supporting the creation of new community arts events which animate areas where there is little or nothing on offer, particularly engaging the Valley’s rural communities.

All artists, performers, events organisers, schools, clubs and cultural organisations are invited to register their events for free on the website and benefit from inclusion in the widespread promotion offered throughout the festival.

The aim of the website is to be a one-stop-shop featuring all the events taking place in Test Valley throughout 2020. It has already started populating and the Foundation hopes that the programme is going to get much busier as it heads towards 2020.

To find out what’s on and how to take part, go to testvalley2020.org