DEVIZES Festival gets off to a rollicking start on Saturday with a day of free events, sponsored by Wadworth's brewery and the Gazette.

Last year's hit of the festival fringe, jazz pianist Daniel Smith will be taking workshops on how to play boogie woogie before he fronts a series of open-air concerts in the Market Place with fellow Joanna player Matt Empson.

All places are now booked for the workshops at the town hall at 11am on Saturday but there will be room for everyone in the Market Place from 2.30pm when Mr Smith and friends open up with the best of boogie woogie.

Then, at 3.15pm and 5.30pm, the Grand Union Band strike up with a mixture of music from Africa, the Caribbean and South America, described in the festival programme as 'joyous celebratory music to move the feet and lift the spirit'.

The festival box office at Devizes Books in Sidmouth Street has been doing a roaring trade since it opened on May 22. Already the tours of Wadworth's brewery have sold out, as have the appearances by best-selling poet Wendy Cope at Urchfont Manor on June 23, jazz pianist Neville Dickie at the town hall on June 22, the tribute to garden designer Gertrude Jekyll at Broadleas House on June 27 and the Saturday performance of the children's show Nellie the Elephant on June 29.

Some tickets remain for most other events. Full details of all events are in the festival brochure.