In its 25th year of arranging top quality events for the people of its home town and surrounding areas, the Bushey Festival is back once again to provide a fun and interesting way of raising money for charity. Having received the Mayor of Hertsmere’s Civic Award for “services undertaken for the benefits of the residents of the borough”, the registered charity is dedicated to maintaining and improving on the already popular event.

The activities kick off on Saturday, July 5 at the Lucy Kemp-Welch Memorial Gallery with an exhibition of works by local artists.

If poetry is more your thing, head over to the free event at George Recreation Ground to hear Bushey poet Alyson Torns, who is inviting audiences to create their own poems on the day.

Make a day of it and spend the evening listening to opera with an Italian theme. Classics include Largo al Factotum from The Barber of Seville and La Donne e Mobile from Rigoletto and will showcase performances from soloists such as Julie Gray, Lucy White, Stephen George and Rodney Gibson. Presented by the Bushey Opera Group, the performance will be at the Bushey Centre.

The following day, special guest Kate Morgan, founder of the festival, will perform soprano at St James Church alongside a piano accompanist to celebrate the event’s 25th anniversary.

On Monday, July 7, audiences can take a musical journey to Paradise on Earth. The concert at St James Church will include performances by Stephen Burrows, Ben Alden, Matt Vine and Duncan Saunderson.

Theatregoers, meanwhile, should head to Falconer Hall for probably one of Alan Ayckbourn’s most comic plays, Confusions, performed by St James’ Music and Drama Society. This series of one act plays is filled with quintessential British humour. If you can’t decide between the music and the theatre, Confusions will be repeated on Thursday and Friday, same time and venue.

To hear an 80-strong gold-medal winning ladies’ barbershop chorus in action, head along to Bushey Hall School for The Phoenix Showcase Chorus. Supported by top male and female quartets, the chorus will sing a capella harmony which promises to range across a broad musical spectrum. The chorus has just received a grant of £10,000 from the Awards for All programme to pay for new stage costumes and shoes for when it represents the UK at the International Convention and Competition in Honolulu this November.

Elsewhere in the festival, join Ian Brameld and the Dixieland Band at the Bushey Country Club on Thursday, July 17 for Chicago jazz from the early years through to the 60s’ trad revival.

To join in the celebrations for the festival’s silver jubilee, head over to Bushey Hall School for a concert of choral and orchestral music. The concert begins with the Benedicite and is followed by the 40th Symphony, one of Mozart’s best-known pieces of music.

The Bushey Festival runs from Saturday, July 5 to Sunday, July 20. Details and tickets: 020 8950 9467, www.festival.bushey.org.uk