A POPULAR Cirencester music festival has been given a boost after organisers received a surprise grant of £10,000.

The town's second youth and volunteer led music and arts festival is being held on the last weekend of August this year.

All those involved in preparing the second annual festival have been madly trying to raise enough money to make sure the event is a certain smash hit.

Organisers recently managed to raise £1,000 through online site Crowdfunder, but were left stumped over how they could gather the remaining £15,000 they needed to make the festival a success.

Event manager Clare Bartlett applied for a grant from the Big Lottery and was overjoyed when she discovered it had been accepted.

"Last year the first Phoenix Festival created a real buzz and was a huge success with over 18,000 people attending," said Clare. "This year we expect it to be even more successful as the excitement and anticipation grows in the build up to the event."

This year there will be an extra acoustic stage with a festival bar serving real ales by Corinium Ales. Visitors can also spot the famous Breitling Wingwalkers, as they perform acrobatics overhead on top of the team's eye-catching biplanes.

There will also be a bouncy castle, circus skills, a pop-up skate park, a champagne bar, performances from Cirencester Creative Dance Academy and much more.

The Cirencester Hare Festival is even getting involved, and the Phoenix Festival's very own hare model, named Musical Maximus, will be on display along with others.

The festival will be held in Cirencester's Abbey Grounds on August 30-31 and will feature 30 musicians alongside a host of local traders, artists, charities and food and drink caterers.

A pre-festival launch party will be held at the Vaults on Friday, August 8 with music and beer available to raise more funds.

Volunteers are still needed to help out in the run up to the event and on the day. Email info@phoenix-festival.co.uk for more.