AS many festivals start to stock the bars with their ales, ciders and lagers for the ever-so thirsty revellers, not many would be able to say, hand on heart, that all their ales and draught products have been sourced locally.

They might be able to find the odd real ale from their region, but when it comes to lager they invariably turn to Australia or Denmark for the fizzy stuff.

Not so at Purbeck Folk Festival for this year all their ales, draught lagers and ciders come from within a 50-mile radius of the festival site in Langton Matravers, near Swanage.

“This year we are working with a local brewery called Sunny Republic who are brewing their first batch of lager to be available at a festival,” says Michael Callaghan of Purbeck Folk Festival.

“We are very much a real ale and cider-drinking bunch down at the festival, but we still have a few who prefer fizzy lager to the cask ale.”

This year though we are really pleased to be able to offer a local lager for the Festival. Sunny Republic Brewery is based in Winterborne Kingston and has an innovative approach to brewing. All their beers have a twist, but this is a first in the brewing business and it is only fitting that the beer makes its Festival debut on its own doorstep.

“We would have been well under 50 miles if it wasn’t for the fact that our regulars love the taste of Yeovil ales,” adds Michael.

“I would fear a revolt if I tried to exclude the Yeovil boys and we have to go a little further afield to find our ciders, however Dorset is growing in reputation as a provider of apples.

“We have a number of local cider providers, including some of the best draught cider I have ever tasted, that is being supplied by the Purbeck Cider Company situated just four miles from the Festival.”

The highlights of this year’s festival include multi-BBC Radio 2 folk award winners Karine Polwart and Show of Hands – both the cream of contemporary folk singers and undeniably the strongest current forces in acoustic music.

There are also sounds from urban shanty hip-hop beat poet Dizraeli and his seven-piece band, the Small Gods.

More traditional folk music comes courtesy of Celtic diddly virtuoso Urban Folk Quartet and folk songwriters Martha Tilston and Pete Morton.

From across the pond, Carrie Rodriguez, the charismatic Mexican-Texan fiddle-singer, headlines on Friday night.

More American-style banjo/fiddliness includes banjo-God, Leon Hunt and his N-tet and the Carrivick Sisters.

For dancing galore from the Deep South, Louisiana Cajun band Sarah Savoy and the Francadians play with a cajun dance workshop in the afternoon.

And if you like dancing, the festival has two young ceilidh bands booked to show you how.

And it’s not all for grown-ups, Purbeck Folk Festival has a whole weekend of great entertainment for the kids too.

The Purbeck Folk Festival takes place on August 23-25 at Langton Matravers near Swanage.