KEEN photographers are urged to get snapping and enter the Malvern Carnival Hat-tastic Photo Competition.

This year's Malvern Carnival and Hat Festival is on Saturday, July 12, but the excitement is already building, and organisers want Malvern's amateur snappers to get busy.

All you have to do is take a photo of yourself, your children, your family, or a pet, wearing hats, or all of the above if you want to really go to town.

Entries will be judged by members of the carnival committee and the Malvern Gazette, and marks will be given for creativity, ingenuity and style.

And the top prize is well worth winning: a free family photographic session with top professionals Excellence Photography of Malvern. The prize includes three printed images, plus a CD containing all the photos.

Jane Knowles of the carnival committee said: "This is a fantastic opportunity for people to get creative and compete for our great prize.

"It will really help get people in the mood for the carnival and hat parade itself, and hopefully inspire even more people to take part on the day itself.

"We look forward to seeing lots of imaginative entries in our Hat-tastic Photo Competition."

On the day, there will be plenty to do, with competitions, music and dancing, lots of children's activities to do, and amazing prizes for the best hats on show.

There will be a vehicle parade, followed by a hatwearing parade, to which all schools, youth groups, bands, societies or organisations are invited.

Entries for the photographic competition should be emailed to justsomalvern@gmail.com by Friday, June 13.

Please state the names of the people and animals in the photo, their ages and confirm you are happy for the photo to be reproduced in the Malvern Gazette or on the Malvern Carnival web site.

For further information about the carnival itself, call chairman Jim Richardson on 01684 569862, or visit the website at sites.google.com/site/malverncarnival2014.