A FIRST-of-its-kind festival promoting gender equality will take place this summer.

G?yl Edeyrnion will celebrate Welsh arts, music and comedy in Corwen from August 18-25.

It is being staged by and will feature a minimum 50 per cent female participants.

Ladies’ First, a Corwen-based organisation promoting female artists, is working with the Edeyrnion Festival branch of the Edeyrnion Action Group to showcase the village’s businesses and give women opportunities to take more control in the running of an event.

Clare Sandland, a trustee of Ladies First and festival organiser, said: “There’s a lack of women behind the scenes and in sound engineering, so we’re hoping we can establish roots with other promoters in the area and beyond to foster a safe space for women to create and perform art.

“We eventually want to be able to fund, stage and mix gigs for female artists by providing gender equal sound teams.

"If we can have a few more women behind the sound desk, maybe we can see even more in front of the mic.

“If anything, at this stage the women greatly outnumber the men.

"So far, we only have Dylan Jones of the Edeyrnion Action Group on the team, so we’re actually looking for more male volunteers to balance it out.”

The idea was generated following an overwhelming response calling for a festival to a post on the more than 2,300-strong Corwen Issues Facebook page, which sought suggestions for the best way to promote Corwen, encourage tourism and regenerate interest in the area.

The festival – named after the medieval region that comprises Corwen and nearby villages including Carrog, Cynwyd and Gwyddelwern – is funded by the Canolfan Ni community centre and organisers have pooled their resources for its launch.

The festival will be the first of its size in the town since 2016’s Corfest.

Organisers will provide stalls for village businesses and host music events throughout Corwen’s pubs on each of the seven nights of the festival as well put on art, comedy and film sessions.

Ms Sandland added: “We’re kicking off with a piano set up in the village square, open to anyone, which we’re hoping to leave for as much of the festival as possible.

"We will also be encouraging a lot of busking in the hope that diverse array of musicians just rock up and do their thing.

"If we can get away with it, we want to fill Corwen with music – the stranger the better."

The festival is not only intended to promote gender equality, but also aims to be as accessible as possible to all age groups and families.

Ms Sandland said:“We’ve tried to make it as accessible as possible, on the final day we will be hosting a family fun day at the Corwen Sports Pavilion.

"Most of the events are free, and most of the activities are free because, we know how difficult it can be for some families to afford a day out.

“As part of this philosophy, next year we’re hoping to make the festival even bigger and open it up to some of the other villages in the surrounding area.”

A full line-up is expected to be finalised by Wednesday, August 1.