MALVERN Civic Society is celebrating its 60th birthday this year, and Midsummer Malvern, the annual civic week, will be marking the anniversary.

The festival kicks off on Saturday, June 23, on Belle Vue Island with Appleyard Morris, followed by mayor Cynthia Palmer performing the opening ceremony, followed by a prize-giving at Malvern Theatres for the civic society's schools literary competition.

The Downs School in Colwall will be open for visitors to see its miniature railway, operated by the school's pupils.

On Sunday, there will be a guided walk around Malvern in the morning and open garden days at houses in Malvern Wells and North Malvern. The afternoon will see the Cinderford Brass Band playing in Priory Park as part of the Bands in the Park season.

On Monday morning, Beck Baker of Malvern Hills Trust will head a walk around the hills, explaining its wildlife and conservation, and the same afternoon, moving further afield is a tour of Wilton Castle, near Ross. The evening will see Anthony Collis talking about his new book on the famous Foster cricketing brothers.

Tuesday will see the Quaker Meeting house on Orchard Road hosting an open day, a tour of Malvern's Victorian Cemetery and a visit to the Firs off College Grove, which served as a hospital for US troops in the Second World War.

That evening, Roger Hall-Jones will give an illustrated talk on buildings and people from Malvern's recent past.

On Wednesday, there will be a visits to Madresfield Court and the Dell House in Malvern Wells, and Petr Somol from twin town Mariánské Lázně will give the annual Community Partnership lecture on how printing changed the world.

Thursday sees a tour of the Edinburgh Dome and a talk on the exhibition, A History of Malvern in 60 Objects, which is running in the priory all week.

Historian John Harcup will talk on Friday about new evidence he has uncovered on how the water cure came to Malvern, and the festival closes on Saturday, June 30 with a youth orchestra concert featuring some of the county's best budding musicians.

For more details on all these events, visit malverncivicsociety.org.uk.