Local cartoonist Andy Gilbert will be in The National Forest marquee at the National Forest Wood Fair on Bank Holiday Monday 26 August, encouraging Wood Fair visitors to try their hand at drawing cartoons of woodland animals.

Andy's confidence-giving style of working enables people who don't normally draw, to produce cartoons they are proud to take home.

Andy said: "In the same way that people say they can't sing, lots of us believe we can't draw. I think we all have the ability to draw, and I encourage people in my sessions to take one step at a time, following all the lines I draw, and at the end everyone has a great cartoon of their own to take home.

"I'm really looking forward to being at the National Forest Wood Fair. The subjects we will be drawing will be fun versions of woodland characters, including a bespectacled owl and other forest friends."

The National Forest marquee is one of a hundred special interest, demonstration, craft and activity stands at the Wood Fair. The day-long show will feature exciting displays from the lumberjacks, chainsaw carvers, pole lathe turners in their log to leg races and magnificent heavy horses hauling logs.

It's a great day out for all the family. Children will love the climbing wall, stories and songs from the Wild Man of the Woods, the chance to paddle a coracle, hitch a ride in the tree lift, and try out eco art.

New for this year is the Forest Food Festival with a fine array of tempting locally-sourced food and drink, and cookery demonstrations will share the stage with a series of woodworking masterclasses. For anyone wanting to see master woodturners and carvers in action and learn some of the tricks of their trades, this is the place to be.

The National Forest is a forest in the making, spanning two hundred square miles of the Midlands. The Wood Fair is a great way to find out about the development of the Forest and how people can get involved. Anyone wanting to create woodland, find out about managing their woodland, or discover all the benefits that woodland can bring to a community and indeed to individuals, will find out more at the Wood Fair. Over the last twenty years over eight million trees have been planted in the Forest - the eight millionth being planted last year by HRH the Duke of Cambridge.

The Wood Fair ends with a charity auction in aid of Tree Aid, a UK-based development charity helping rural communities in Africa's drylands to fight poverty and become self-reliant by tree planting to provide a sustainable harvest. Many of the chainsaw carvings created on the day, plus items donated by Wood Fair exhibitors, will be under the auctioneer's hammer at 5pm. It's a chance to pick up a bargain and support a vital charity in the process.

The National Forest Wood Fair is run by the National Forest Company in partnership with Leicestershire County Council. Beacon Hill Country Park, which is owned by Leicestershire County Council, is just 5 minutes from junctions 22/23 of the M1 motorway.

The Fair opens at 9am and closes at 6pm. There is a free park and ride service running from County Hall, Glenfield, Leicester, and entry discounts for cyclists.

Tickets on the day, including car parking and a programme, cost: adult £9, concession £6, family £25 (two adults and three concessionary tickets). Book in advance and get 20% discount! Tickets are on sale now online at www.nationalforestwoodfair.co.uk and also available at the Tourist Information Centres in Ashby de la Zouch (01530 411767) and Swadlincote (01283 222848). With 20% discount your family day out will cost just £20.

For further information and to book tickets see www.nationalforestwoodfair.co.uk or call the National Forest Company on 01283 551211.

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Media contacts: For further information contact Carol Rowntree Jones at the National Forest Company on 01283 551 211. For background information please visit www.nationalforest.org Digital images available, contact: media@nationalforest.org

NOTES TO EDITORS:

1. The National Forest area covers 200 square miles of the counties of Leicestershire, Derbyshire and Staffordshire.  Its objective is to increase woodland cover within its boundaries from an initial six per cent to about a third. No multi-purpose forest on this scale has been created in the UK for one thousand years. To date the proportion of woodland cover in the Forest has more than trebled to 19.5 per cent and in 2012 HRH the Duke of Cambridge planted the eight millionth tree in the Forest. 

2. Year by year, The National Forest has been steadily turning what was once one of the least wooded areas of England into a multi-purpose, sustainable forest. The National Forest provides environmental, social and economic benefits, including landscape enhancement, creation of new wildlife habitats and major new access and leisure opportunities. It is an excellent example of sustainable development - with environmental improvement providing a stimulus both to economic regeneration and to community pride and activity.

3. To achieve these objectives, the National Forest Company leads the creation of The National Forest, working in partnership with landowners, local authorities, private business, voluntary organisations and local communities and has strong support from Government, politicians and the public.  The Company receives grant in aid from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

4. The Independent Panel on Forestry, in its final report published in July 2012, stated: 'The National Forest exemplifies how a long term, resourced and focused agenda can increase publicly accessible woodland in an area alongside other environmental and economic benefits.'

5. In 2008, the National Forest Company and partners won the inaugural Sustainable Development UK Award, for their work in Ashby Woulds, at the heart of The National Forest.