THE Courtyard is inviting families to spend an enchanted day at the venue during October half-term as they launch their first ever Family Festival.

Curated and organised by The Courtyard's family co-ordinator Rachel Adams, the Myths and Legends themed festival is designed to offer something for everyone and to show those familiar with The Courtyard, another side to the building, and to give people who've never been inside a real taste of how magical and exciting the venue is.

Wednesday, October 28, promises to be a mystical day full of spellbinding stories, fantastical fairytales, castles, gingerbread houses, dragons, knights, princesses, mermaids and an underwater world.

"The festival is the result of an Arts Council Grant and support from the Beaumont Trust and sponsorship from Western Power Distribution," explains Rachel. "The remit is to engage with people who wouldn't normally come to The Courtyard. A lot of the current audience comprises people from the city and people who are happy to travel, but we're hoping to attract people from across the county.

"Hopefully we will inspire young people from an early age so that The Courtyard will become part of their cultural landscape."

There's a packed programme of events - some free, others ticketed - throughout the day, and every part of the building will be transformed into a magical, mythical world.

"Ripstop Theatre Company will be here with their mesmerising show, A Real Mermaid's Tale," says Rachel, "and to complement that our ground floor meeting room will become an underwater Mermaid's Grotto, just one of the transformations The Courtyard will undergo."

Also on the line-up are two dance shows, performances from the Garrick Singers, wandering medieval minstrels will serenade visitors, who are all invited to dress up as their favourite mythical character. "Mr World, Max O'Connor, will be appearing as classic mythology's legendary strongman, Hercules!"

In the run-up to the festival, Carnival Arts will be going to four schools across the county to develop a big dragon structure, which will be a highlight of a procession which starts at 10am on Castle Green, arriving at The Courtyard at 10.30am for the offical launch of the days' events.

"The dragon will then disappear and people will be invited to go on a backstage tour to find him," says Rachel. "The main house will be turned into the dragon's lair, so that people will experience a different side of the theatre."

There will be workshops dedicated to illustration, puppetry and an Aardman model making workshop, and the library will be on site with some quiet storytelling.

In keeping with the dragon theme, Agent Green the dragon hunter will be telling the story of Maud and the Dragon.

During the coming weeks, there will be opportunities to secure golden tickets for the festival, tickets which will enable their owners to get into paid-for events free of charge. To be in with a chance, you'll need to attend one of the community workshops being run in conjunction with the festival.

"And our sponsor, Western Power Distribtuin, has given us an iPad as part of a competition we'll be running on the day," says Rachel.

For full details of everything Family Festival, go to courtyard.org.uk