Shepherd Neame is to continue its long-standing sponsorship of the Faversham Hop Festival.

The annual festival (pictured), now in its 36th year, will bring live music and family entertainment to five main outdoor stages and Shepherd Neame’s nine Faversham pubs, as well as other venues throughout the town.

Faversham, home to the brewery since 1698, will once again be transformed into a bustling hive of bands and singers, Morris dancers, market stalls, street food, funfair rides and hop crowns on 5-6 September.

Bands set to perform include Taking Care of Vegas, Paragraph 1, Curb Pilots, FNKHAUS and Marylebone Jelly. There will also be a hop lessing ceremony on the Sunday morning to celebrate Faversham’s hop growing heritage and mark the end of the harvest.

Beer lovers will be on the look out seasonal favourite Late Red (4.5 per cent) which will be on offer at selected pubs during the weekend, alongside this year’s limited-edition green hop ale Hop Pocket (4.5 per cent).

Sheps chief executive Jonathan Neame said: “We are delighted to once again support the Faversham Hop Festival, one of the town’s biggest events and a much-loved celebration of our hop heritage.

“The festival is a fantastic opportunity to not only showcase our beers, brewery and pubs, but also for the local community to come together and sample the very best that Faversham has to offer.”

For more information visit www.shepherdneame.co.uk/hop-festival