A PROJECT to highlight the region's farmers' markets will be featured at a festival this month.

The Food Festival and Museum Open Day will be held at Bowes Museum, near Barnard Castle, on Saturday, August 30.

The event will include a picnic in the park, free admission to the museum, demonstrations, a craft market and live music.

It is the latest venture in the Teesdale and Wear Valley Local Food and Produce Initiative and is being staged with support from the England Leader Plus programme, which is managed and part funded by Defra and the European Union.

The project aims to develop the area's farmers' markets and build on their success in creating local markets for local produce.

Katrina Palmer, project co-ordinator, said: "We've already purchased new stalls, enabling more stallholders to attend and with a greater variety of produce on sale the markets are becoming more and more popular.

"Since January, the Barnard Castle Farmers' Market has grown from 18 stalls to 23 and, as well as attracting consistent support from local people, there are more and more people travelling to the market from Newcastle, Durham and York.

"Stanhope market has also expanded. Previously, it was held only four times a year, but now it's a monthly event at the Durham Dales Centre and by September there will be 15 regular stallholders."

A website is also to be launched, with a page for each producer, which will be linked to a directory.

Supported by Teesdale and Wear Valley District Councils, One NorthEast, GlaxoSmithKline and NEDL, the project aims to create and consolidate links between local producers and businesses, forging a strong local economy and attracting people to the area and its towns.