The annual celebration features the very best of Northumberland's traditional music, dance, craft, dialect and heritage with plenty of events to please all the family.

After last year's incredibly successful 40th anniversary, 2008 sees a special 'Crossing Borders' theme and also incorporates Tudor music events to mark the launch of the town's year-long celebrations for the 500th birthday of Morpeth's own William Turner, father of English botany.

Proggy mat-makers, Northumbrian pipers and dialect poets will mingle with visitors from not just the Scottish Border but also the Welsh and Czech border regions, which have their own bagpiping traditions.

Highlights of the Saturday morning pageant will be the modern children's miners'-style banners created by Whitley Memorial CoE First School, Bedlington, and the magnificent giant figure of piper Jamie Allan making a return visit after his unveiling in 2007 by Dodgy Clutch Theatre, who are interrupting their spring tour of the internationally-acclaimed production 'Elephant' to perform the street theatre show based on Allan's scandalous life during the day.

More than 50 events will take place — many of them free — including outdoor shows in the Market Place and Park (plus Back Riggs if the redevelopment work allows), the Town Hall crafts exhibition, a full afternoon of musical and dialect competitions in various town centre halls on Saturday and the annual opening of the town's heritage spaces (Clock Tower on Saturday and Old Council Chamber on Sunday).

There will be a film presentation by Jefe Brown of Prague on the Czech international bagpiping festival at Strakonice with archive footage of Northumbrian musicians and dancers; artist in residence Catherine Stott exhibiting the paintings created at last year's event; more puppet tales from 'Time for George', pub sessions, vintage bus park and ride, bellringing and even orienteering, with the climax of events on Sunday with a performance in music, dance and drama by KEVI pupils of the Life of William Turner, a talk on Turner by Marie Addyman and a grand concert by the York Waits in full Tudor costume featuring their new tune 'A Fanfare for William Turner'.

Tickets and Accommodation Information are available from Morpeth Tourist Information Centre, The Chantry, Bridge Street, Morpeth, NE61 1PD; phone 01670 500700.

Park events queries to the Park Office, by the Turner Garden; phone 01670 535000.

Tickets and programmes are also available at Town Hall Exhibition and other venues during the Gathering weekend, which starts tomorrow (Friday).

For information on the Gathering, its fellow organisations the Northumbrian Language Society and mail-order details of books, posters, recordings, etc.