MINTFEST 2014 is ready to swing into action with a towering programme of outdoor theatre and entertainment.

Running from Friday-Sunday, August 29-31, once again Kendal’s parks and public spaces will be alive with artists, dancers and performers who gather for another fabulous three-day extravaganza.

This year’s event looks like being the biggest yet with 60 companies heading for town from the UK, Europe and beyond.

Among them will be the hugely popular Mintfest on the Streets on the Saturday.

There will be live music in the Brewery Arts Centre gardens on Saturday evening and all day on Sunday, as well as late-night cabaret in the Brewery Malt Room on Friday and Saturday nights.

In the Mintfest mix will be acrobatic aerial excitement from FullStop Acrobatics, the extraordinary creatures of La Menagerie courtesy of Belgium’s La Compagnie DeFo and contemporary circus cabaret from ‬French outfit Les Krilati.

As always there will plenty to do for children and families, including a new show for the under-5s from Peut Etre. Other favourites include Akademi (who brought the majestic Sufi Zen to Lakes Alive in 2010) and the Fairly Famous Family.

Young Lakelanders Joe Thomas and Evie Hill’s talented teen theatre company NotOnly4Boys is back at Mintfest staging Fishing for Stories with Albert Ross, at Abbot Hall Park, also featuring NO4B regulars Jordan Halliwell and Laurie Hurley.

As for some of the most imaginative physical theatre around catch up at Abbot Hall Park with the extraordinary Knotted Project, and witness the acro-balance and mesmerising movement of inspiring local performers Natalie Morrell and Simon McElligott.

Included in six new Mintfest commissions - supported by Without Walls - are Frantic by Acrojou, an acrobatic, dance-theatre and rich visual piece‬; (i)land by ‬Marc Brew, grounded in contemporary technique and classical ballet‬‬‬; The Soul of Fado by ‬Nuno Silva, combining dance, music and fire; and Hamba by ‬Tiata Fahozdi, a contemporary African mystery play‬‬‬.

For the full line up visit www.lakesalive.org/mintfest-introduction.