THIS year's Printfest will be a truly multi-venue event spreading across the highways and byways of Ulverston.

Come weekend and centre stage will be the amazing printmaking exhibition held within the walls of the Coronation Hall, with 49 artists displaying their work and talking to visitors about their methods and skills.

There will be two pop-up shops, one in the Coro foyer and one upstairs, selling all things printmaking: rollers, ink, cutting tools and paper, presses and stay-open inks.

Printfest's Printmaker of the Year Sadie Tierney will be displaying her commissioned print - inspired by the mountains and lakes around Wastwater - in the Coro foyer, and a marquee in the hall's car park will house four workshops on different methods of printmaking.

Sadie will also be showing her paintings at Gallery 68 in Market Street along with Ulverston-based artist Tina Balmer and Kendal's Rosie Wates.

Elsewhere in town, all the Printfest Printmakers of the Year, since 2010, will have their commissioned prints on show at Natterjacks cafe and gallery on Queen Street throughout May, with a special opening on Saturday (May 4), from noon-4pm.

Not forgetting, home and giftware shop Squirrel will host a drop-in printmaking workshop in mark-making, Cumbria Crystal is running glass blowing workshops at Canal Head and Fired Up Furness has an exhibition and sale of ceramics, pottery and sculpture organised by Potters Collective opposite the Coro at 1 County Mews.

Printfest chairman Sally Bamber said that they always wanted to encourage fringe activities as well as make Printfest the northern hub of printmaking. She added: "It's great that anyone coming to Ulverston for the Printfest weekend can get the benefits of all these other artistic activities."

Printfest is open Saturday, 10am-5pm and Sunday, 10am-4pm.

The UK’s foremost artist-led printmaking festival, it attracted more than 1,600 visitors in 2018, and there was a record £63,000 worth of sales during the two day gathering.