BARRY Island is preparing for a fun-packed summer in 2015 with the free Weekender events set to return, starting from.next weekend and running through August.

From 11am on Saturday, July 11 Welsh music event Gwyl Fach y Fro will see a selection of Welsh artists take to the stage, featuring performances from singer-songwriter Kizzy Crawford, Cardiff band Kookamunga and festival favourites Wonderbrass.

Saturday, July 18 and Sunday, July 19 will see the return of the award-winning Isle of Fire event, which took the Best Event award at the National Tourism Awards for Wales in March.

The street music weekender on Saturday, July 25 and Sunday, July 26 will feature some jazzy performances from All That Jazz and Samba Galez, and on Saturday, August 1 and Sunday, August 2 the top of the eastern shelter will welcome the Island Rocks event with shows from The Underdogs and Outback.

Street theatre returns on Saturday, August 8 with shows from 12pm each day, with the addition of a special performance of Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew on top of the eastern shelter at 6pm on the Sunday.

On Saturday, August 15 and Sunday, August 16 the eastern prom welcomes a new addition to the Weekenders line up. Prepared by the same team that delivered the Christmas projection display on King Square, the Enchanted Beach will see the Eastern prom transformed by huge colourful projections of Barry Island past and present.

The sport, art and play weekender takes over the Island from 11am to 4pm on Saturday, August 22 and Sunday, August 23 featuring beach sports, a play village, and art workshops.

And to finish off the summer season, the Cinema by the Sea returns once again from 8.30pm on Saturday, August 29 and Sunday, August 30 showing the Tom Cruise classic Top Gun on Saturday, and the Disney spectacle Frozen on Sunday.

For more information on any of the events, call 01446 704737 or visit www.visitthevale.com.